


Twisted Wonderland Drabbles and Oneshots

by RandomlyPassedBy



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attempt at Humor, Chapter 5 Spoilers, Characters Tagged As They Appear, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Kisses, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Graduation, Wedding Planning, all characters make an appearance in chapter 4, non-magic au, relationships tagged as they appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:34:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26027305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomlyPassedBy/pseuds/RandomlyPassedBy
Summary: A collection of drabbles and oneshots on our favourite boys [specific tags for each chapter in chapter summary]Chapter 1 : Lost in the Maze of Your Heart (Trey/Jade)Chapter 2 : You vs Me(ow)  (Idia/Azul)Chapter 3 : Tangled up in your blue (Idia/Azul)Chapter 4 : Epel's Sneezing Adventures (Epel-centric)Chapter 5 : Let's walk together (Malleus/Cater)Chapter 6 : Idiazul kisses (Idia/Azul)Chapter 7 : Caters' Weekly Roundup! (Cater-centric)Chapter 8 : Beautiful like diamonds (Malleus/Cater)Chapter 9 : The stars are out (Vil & Leona)Vil gets an unexpected call the night after VDC.
Relationships: Azul Ashengrotto/Idia Shroud, Cater Diamond/Malleus Draconia, Leona Kingscholar & Vil Schoenheit, Trey Clover/Jade Leech
Comments: 58
Kudos: 184





	1. Lost in the Maze of Your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A delivery job to Heartslabyul proved to be more adventurous than Jade expected.

Jade stood in front of the magic mirror leading to Heartslabyul dormitory. The mirror was surrounded with carvings of cards and roses. The aesthetic was a bit messy in Jade’s opinion as he was used to Octavinelle’s smooth tentacles, but he did appreciate the toadstool mushrooms lining up the steps to the mirror.

He stepped into the mirror and was transported to green grass and cobblestone pathways. This was actually the first time Jade came to Heartslabyul. Octavinelle only does special deliveries to a few selected people and Floyd would usually insist on delivering any items to Heartslabyul. Said twin actually had to stay back for alchemy lessons so Jade was left with the delivery task. The item was requested by Riddle and was safely in the briefcase Jade was carrying.

Not one to miss out on exploring new places, Jade walked through the pathway leading up to the main building and looked around. There were a lot of other pathways leading to different parts of the dorm. 

At the corner of his sight, Jade saw a patch of colourful pastel growth near a tall hedge. Interested, Jade walked towards it. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the growth was actually a cluster of mushrooms. 

'Interesting. The shape is like oyster mushrooms, but I've never seen any of this colour before. And for it to be of the same species but with different colours in one cluster...'

Jade looked around and saw a different cluster of colourful neon mushrooms. 

'Curiouser and curiouser' 

As a person who loves to discover more about God's wonderful creation known as mushrooms, Jade went further into the garden and observed the neon troop of what looks like Morel mushrooms. This species was different than the previous one. 

As Jade observed the mushrooms, he heard loud rustling sounds from behind him. Jade turned around and saw the hedges shifting. The opening where he came from is now blocked by the hedges. He looked around and realized that he was in a maze. Tall hedges surrounded him.

He went to the part where the opening used to be and gingerly touched the hedge there. Seeing as it didn't shift, he pushed his hand through it. There were no thorns or weird smell from it, so it was safe for the most part. But as Jade pushed his arm all the way through, his hand still didn't reach the other side, which showed how thick the hedges were. He pulled back his arm and brushed the stray leaves out from his sleeves. 'So it seems I can't just push my way through it. Looks like I'll have to go further in.'

It wasn't the best idea, but it was the only thing he could do. Besides, how big can the maze be? Jade had navigated through the winding waters of Coral Sea, which are way more difficult compared to land. At least on land he won't get swept away by currents. 

With that in mind, he continued moving further into the maze, keeping in mind the pathways he took. 

\---

'Well, looks like I'm properly lost now'

Jade had been keeping track of where he came from but as he should've expected, the hedges kept shifting and changing and he couldn't even find his way back to his original point. He looked at his watch. The promised meet-up time was supposed to be at 5pm, and it was already 10 minutes past that. Out of options, Jade took out his magic pen from the pocket of his dormitory vest. If he can't _find_ his way out, he would just have to _create_ his own way out. 

"I apologize in advance about damaging your dorm property Riddle-san, but drastic times call for drastic measures" Jade grinned, not entirely upset about blasting a hole through the maze. 

He aimed his magic pen at the direction where he believed was the closest to the main building and gathered his magic. The tip of his pen started glowing purple. He steadied his hand, focused on the gathered magic and-

"Jade!"

He was startled out of his concentration and the magic dispersed. He looked around to find where the voice was coming from.

"Up here!"

Jade looked up and had to squint as the sun was directly behind the person's silhouette. After his eyes adjusted, Trey Clover was there on his broom, looking like an angel with the sun shining behind him. He flew downwards and landed next to Jade.

"Thank goodness I found you. And just in time too if your earlier stance was what I thought it was" he sighed. 

Jade smiled showing his sharp teeth. "It seemed to be my only option, so indeed you came just in time Trey-san. How did you know I was here?" 

"Riddle said you were supposed to meet him and was late. It wasn't like you to be late and then some students came and said the maze caught a prey. I just put two and two together."

"Well, looks like Trey-san is my knight in shining armor today." Jade teased. Trey laughed and rubbed the back of his head, the tip of his ears turning red.

"So, you know the way out from this maze then?" Jade asked, not wanting to delay the delivery any longer than necessary. 

"No, I don't know the way out. Only some of our residents know their way around it and even then the maze keeps changing so it's very challenging. The easiest way to get out is to go over it, which is why I'm here with this" he gestured to the broom he was flying with earlier. 

"Ah, I see"

Jade's face remained impassive but Trey could tell that he was dreading the means of transportation. "I know you're not fond of flying, but it's the fastest way to get out. The other alternative is to wait for the maze to calm down and recognize that you're not an enemy, but I'm not sure how long that's gonna take. Enchanted maze, you know."

"It's alright Trey-san. I would avoid flying if I could but we must do what we need to do" he sighed.

"Okay. Hop on then." Trey got on the broom and waited for Jade. He got on the broom and put one hand on Trey's shoulder, as the other hand was holding the briefcase. 

"I think it's better to put your arms around my torso, it's more secured that way and you can use both arms."

Jade felt his face grow warm. "...okay." He tentatively wrapped his arms around Trey and was naturally pulled closer to the body in front of him. Jade could smell the natural scent of Trey being that close, a sweet, vanilla smell that wasn't too overwhelming. 

"Hold on tight," and with that, they started ascending to the sky. Jade could feel his legs dangling and saw the ground getting further from his sight. He held on to Trey a bit tighter, closed his eyes and buried his face into Trey's neck. If Trey could feel his heart racing then he can always blame it on his fear of flying.

"It's alright Jade, we're almost there." Trey chuckled and Jade could feel the vibration from his chest. Jade just focused on the smell of vanilla and the feel of Trey's strong chest. He visualized Trey holding a mixing bowl and whipping some cream in a kitchen, the smell of vanilla is swirling all around the air and Jade hoped they were really close to the ground because he was about to get dizzy. 

"Okay, landing now. Be careful with your feet."

Jade opened his eyes and saw that they were already hovering over the ground, the grass clearing stretching out with the main dormitory building on their right. Riddle was approaching them from the building. 

Jade untangled his arms from Trey, noticing how Trey visibly let out a breath after he did so. He got off the broom and watched as Trey did the same. "My apologies for my unmannerly conduct. It seems I am still unsuited for flying" Jade gave a slight bow of his head, feeling bad for squeezing Trey a bit too tightly. 

Trey laughed. "Don't apologize! I'm used to my little siblings clinging to me when I give them a ride too" he said. He looked away and put a hand on his neck. "Besides, I didn't mind it that much since it's you..."

"Ahem."

Both Jade and Trey were jolted out of the moment by Riddle standing beside them with his arms crossed. 

"I am sorry to interrupt, but I believe you have something for me Jade?" he asked, a hint of a smirk on his face.

Jade returned to business mode and handed the briefcase to Riddle, smiling politely. "I am sorry for the delay, but here is the item you've requested."

Riddle took the briefcase and slightly opened it to peek at the insides. Whatever was inside it must have been satisfactory as he closed the bag and tucked it under his arm. "Thank you Jade. The payment has been made, yes?"

"Yes. Thank you for your patronage with us." Jade put a hand on his chest in his trademark gesture.

Riddle gave him a nod. "Well, I won't hold you up for long. See you in class Jade." He gave a knowing look at Trey and left the two of them.

"Well then Trey-san, I will be taking my leave. Thank you for rescuing me from the maze." Jade was about to make his way back to the mirror when Trey grabbed his hand.

"Uhh, you should drop by again. I mean, you don't have to wait for a delivery to visit our dorm," he let go of Jade's hand. "I can show you around the gardens, they say it's full of odd plants."

Jade smiled. "Perhaps no enchanted mazes next time?"

"No enchanted mazes. Promise." 

They looked at each other and laughed. 

"Then, I look forward to my next visit. Goodbye Trey-san." Jade turned around and headed back to the mirror. He walked past the garden where the maze was and saw that it wasn't very far from the mirror. Jade took note of the unassuming patch of pastel mushrooms and silently thanked them.

He made his way to the mirror and transported back to the mirror hall. He straight away went back to Octavinelle as he was quite behind schedule. 'Hope Azul is not too angry.'

Upon reaching Mostro Lounge, he came across his twin. "Oh Floyd, you're finished with your extra lessons?"

Floyd groaned. "The striped beakfish was being so harsh. But he let me go once I finished the task. What was Jade doing?"

"I just came back from a delivery to Heartslabyul."

Floyd grinned. "Heee~? Is that why you have such a nice smile on your face? Did'ya meet Seaweed?"

"Floyd, you say such ridiculous things sometimes." 

...was what Jade said, but he went to the toilet to make sure he wasn't grinning too hard before starting his shift at the lounge. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First up is Trey/Jade! This pairing is so popular and all their fanarts get me fired up. Trey's scent is inspired from my moots on twitter, thanks friends xD
> 
> All knowledge of mushrooms are entirely based on instant googling, so don't come at me for wrong descriptions Jade!


	2. You vs Me(ow)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A story about Azul, Idia and the cat
> 
> post-graduation, non-magic AU, established relationship

"Grrrrr! Hiss!"

Azul flinched at the hissing coming from the white ball of fur. That was a new development. Usually the cat just ignores him or swish its tail angrily. 

"Hey, don't be aggressive towards me. I'm the one who allowed you to be here, in case you've forgotten."

Azul and Idia have been living together in their shared apartment for a year now. Before Idia graduated, they've made a deal to share an apartment together. They both liked each other's company enough and it would benefit them both in terms of housekeeping. It was a fairly large apartment, with two rooms complete with individual bathrooms, a quaint kitchen with a bar, and a living room. Idia bought the place after graduating and last year Azul moved in. 

Idia works at a transportation technology company, he recently got promoted so he works longer hours. One might find it surprising that the shut-in Idia actually goes out to his workplace, but that was only because he has his own room in the office which he really likes. 

Azul now owns his own restaurant, with the ever-faithful Leech twins with him. He just finished work around midnight and came back to the apartment. After getting ready to sleep, he went to the kitchen to take some water when he is met face-to-face (feet-to-face?) with the little fluff. He was minding his own business until that point where she hissed at him. 

"You are lucky Idia likes you. Or else you would still be in the streets scavenging scraps of food," Azul huffed. "And you're lucky I like Idia-san enough to agree to his puppy eyes."

_Idia came back to the apartment, holding a white cat in his arms. "Azul, this cat was meowing at me and followed me all the way to our block asking for pets. Can we keep her? Please?" Idia was no stranger to begging and made his pleading face, blinking yellow eyes, eyebrows bunched together, lips pursed._

_Unfortunately for Idia, Azul has been on the receiving end of the face many times and the effect was wearing off. "Idia-san, you know how tedious it is to have a pet in the apartment. You have to feed it, provide space for it to sleep and poop, of course clean it too and we're not even going into maintaining its health. Are you going to be responsible for all this?"_

_"I promise I'll take care of her! I'll use my own money for the food and stuffs too. So can we please keep her?" Idia looked straight into Azul's eyes with his glistening pretty eyes._

_'Damn it. It's still working'. Azul sighed. "Fine. As long as it doesn't bother me."_

_Idia cheered and swayed the cat around. "You hear that Princess? Azul is letting you stay! Azul-shi I love you!!"_

_As if agreeing with Idia, the cat meowed happily in his arms._

"Hiss!"

"Well, aren't you very polite, _Princess_?" Azul sneered at the cat. Princess. His very creative boyfriend decided to name the cat 'Princess'. She's not behaving like one, so Idia obviously didn't think it through.

While he was having a stare down with the cat, the door to their apartment opened.

"I'm home."

Azul went out from the kitchen and was greeted with the sight of Idia hunched in the doorway, taking off his shoes. It was rare for Idia to come home this early, usually he would only be back when Azul is already in bed.

"Welcome back Idia-san."

Idia was startled. "Azu~uul. I thought you'd be sleeping already." He crossed the threshold and held out his arms. Azul opened his arms and Idia draped himself over Azul. Looks like it's one of those nights where Idia is extra clingy.

"I was just getting a glass of water when you entered. Oh, and the cat hissed at me, can you believe how rude it is?" Azul whined. 

Idia made a groaning noise. "Azul just take me to bed already I am dead on my feet."

Azul chuckled. "What would you have done if I was already asleep then? Sleep here in front of the door?"

"You know I would. Thank god for Azul-shi~" Idia pulled his head away from Azul's shoulder to smile at him. Azul turned his head away, trying to will the heat away from his face.

He softly pushed Idia away. "Alright alright go change. I'm not allowing you on my bed with your work clothes." Idia reluctantly let go of Azul and trudged to his room to change. Azul went back to the kitchen to switch off the lights and noticed blue eyes staring at him. Azul ignored it and switched off the lights.

After making sure the apartment was locked, Azul went to his room to see Idia already sprawled on the bed, in his pajamas thankfully. After taking off his glasses and putting them on the bedside table, Azul pulled the blankets over Idia and slid under it as well. They had their own rooms in the apartment but they often find themselves in this sleeping arrangement. Azul honestly preferred it, having a warm body to fall asleep to and waking up to Idia's face in the morning? No complains there. 

"Goodnight Idia-san."

Idia was already sound asleep. Taking the opportunity, Azul brushed his bangs away and kissed his forehead. Immensely content, Azul snuggled up to Idia and went to sleep grinning. 

* * *

_*beep beep beep*_

The familiar alarm woke Azul up. He stretched out his arm to switch it off. Sensing the movement, Idia groaned and tightened his hold on Azul.

"Mmm... don't go..." he nuzzled his face in the crook of Azul's shoulder.

"Idia-san I have work today. You can continue sleeping but I need to wake up now." Despite saying that, Azul took his time combing his fingers through Idia's unruly hair.

Idia made a whining sound but loosened his hold. Azul gave him a peck on the cheek as a sign of thank you and got up.

"I'll make breakfast. Eggs sound okay to you?" Azul put on his glasses and got up. The lump of blankets just made an affirmative sound so Azul took that as a "Yes please, thank you very much my lovely boyfriend."

Azul went to the toilet and washed his face and brushed his teeth. Just as he was about to leave the room, Idia spoke up.

"Azul... please feed Princess too... my love..."

Azul wasn't sure if Idia was referring to him or Princess as "my love", but for his own sake he'll take it for himself. "Yes of course, I'll feed her too."

Exiting the room, Azul went around the apartment and opened up the all the curtains. If he were to leave it to Idia, the apartment will never see the sunlight. After completing his rounds, he went to the kitchen and got started on breakfast. 

As he was frying the eggs, he looked around for Princess. She was nowhere near the kitchen so she was probably still sleeping on her special bed in the living room. Azul turned off the heat and plated the eggs. He took out the cat food from the cupboard and shook the contents of it to alert her highness of her upcoming breakfast. 

Without waiting for the cat to come, Azul poured the food into her feeding bowl. Just as he was keeping the food back in the cupboard, the cat slinked in. 

"There you are. Have your breakfast."

The cat sat in front of the bowl and looked at Azul, her tail swishing back and forth. 

"What, your food is right there."

The cat is still staring at Azul. Sighing, Azul crouched down to her level.

"Do you need me to pet you first? Like what Idia does in the morning?" Azul extended his hand to pet the cat when she hissed and swiped her claws at his hand.

"AACK!" Azul managed to retract his hand and avoided the attack. The cat continued hissing.

Azul stood up from his crouching position, fully offended. "Huh! Have it your way then. Don't eat, see if I care."

He took the eggs and toast and served them on the table. As if summoned, Idia made his way out of the room, yawning and probably not fully awake yet. He headed straight to the table and sat down, stretching his arms over his head. Azul took a seat opposite of him.

"Idia-san, Princess just tried to scratch me earlier."

"Eh?? What did you do?"

Azul was slightly offended that Idia's question implied that it was his fault. "I didn't do anything! I just tried to pet her because she was just looking at me and not eating her food and then she swiped her sharp claws at me."

Idia laughed, buttering his toast. "Maybe she doesn't like you." 

Azul scoffed. "She has no reason to dislike me. In fact, she should be grateful I allowed her to stay."

Idia just hummed. "Give her some time, she'll open up to you sooner or later."

"I don't care if she doesn't like me, but if she's going to hiss and scratch at me whenever we're in the same room then it's going to be a difficult situation." Azul huffed and pointedly ate his eggs. 

Seeing that Azul was still upset, Idia got up and looked for the cat. He found her in the kitchen licking her paws, her bowl empty. 

"Hello Princess did you have a good breakfast?" Idia picked up the cat and she purred happily in his arms. "You finished all the food Azul-shi gave hmm?"

Carrying the cat in his arms, Idia went back to the table. Azul's eyes narrowed seeing the cat, and the purring from the cat slowed down as well. Undeterred, Idia brought the cat to Azul.

"See Princess, say thank you to Azul-sama for feeding you today. You can let him pet you right?"

The cat stopped purring and her tail was swishing. But at least she wasn't hissing again.

"Azul, go ahead and pet her."

Reluctantly, Azul reached out a hand a gave a few short pats on the cat's head. She didn't seem like she particularly enjoyed it but she didn't move away. And, no growls or claw swipes.

"That wasn't so bad wasn't it! Ooooh my cute cat and my cute boyfriend~" Either Idia didn't sense the tension in the air or he decided to ignore it, he spun around with the cat in his arms. While he was busy cooing over the cat he didn't see Azul glaring daggers at the cat. The cat also similarly met Azul's eyes and flicked his ears. 

And from that moment, Azul and the cat both knew.

_This means war._

* * *

The days went by. Azul avoided the cat as much as he could and the cat kept her distance as well. Idia kept falling asleep in Azul's bed, the latter waking up to warm arms around him. He doesn't get asked to feed the cat anymore, which was good. 

Until that one fateful day.

Azul just finished a tiring day at the restaurant. One of the stove cooker was broken and delayed a whole serving of appetizers. On top of that, they were short of kitchen staff because one of them took a maternity leave so Azul had his work cut out for him. He was looking forward to a nice warm bath and a good rest once he's home. He unlocked the door to the apartment and took off his shoes and coat. All was well until he reached the living room. 

He noticed a pile of wood chippings on the floor. Following it, he saw that it was due to scratches on the the wooden legs of the armchair. Now standing in the living room, he noticed the sofa was terribly scratched on one side too. His side of the sofa! He moved closer to inspect the damage properly. It was quite bad. The claw marks pierced through the cushion and some of the stuffings were protruding out. 

It was then that he saw the broken pot at the bottom of one of the side table. 

"No. Nononono please-" 

It was the pot of the spider plant, the leaves of the plant sprawled limply amongst the soil and broken pot. But this wasn't just any spider plant, this was Mr. Ururu, a plant that was gifted to Azul from none other than Idia. He complained about wanting some greens in the apartment and Idia came back with it one day with only "I thought you'd like this one" as explanation. 

Azul finds the plant pretty basic at first, but the thought that Idia bought it while thinking of him made him treasure it. And he grew fond of the plant. **Very** fond. He even named it for goodness sake!

And now it's on the ground. Limp and sad.

"Now you've done it. Oh you evil little creature!"

There was obviously only one culprit behind all this. Azul took the watering spray that he used to water the plant. Wielding his weapon, he angrily searched for the fiend. He found her curled up in front of Idia's door, acting as if she didn't just ruin some furniture and killed Mr. Ururu.

Without any warning, Azul sprayed the cat with water. The cat was startled awake and ran away from Azul's onslaught of spray. She got cornered in the kitchen and hissed at Azul, seeing that she didn't have anywhere to go.

"Can't go anywhere now huh? Now you'll know the consequences of declaring war with me you pussy!" Azul sprayed her again.

Taking advantage of the close contact, the cat swiped both paws at Azul's hand. "ReoOW!"

Azul yelped. He retracted his hand and looked at the injury. The cat managed to land a good hit on him and now there were three parallel scratch running across his hand. 

"YOU BITCH. YOU STARTED THIS. HUARGHH!"

\----

"Home at last~ back to my loves Azul and Princess~" Idia had a good day at work and was in a good mood arriving at the apartment. He was in the process of unlocking the door when he heard some banging sounds from inside. 

Fearing the worst, Idia quickly unlocked the door and ran inside. "Azul?! Are you oka-" Idia froze seeing the situation in the kitchen. 

Azul was crouched on the floor, wielding a rolling pin and pointing it at Princess, the white creature at the corner with her fur standing up. 

"What is happening here??" 

At the sound of interruption both creatures turned to Idia and hissed. Idia raised his hands up in defense. "I come in peace!"

Snapping out of the feral trance, Azul ran up to his boyfriend. "Idia-san! That wild creature mauled me! Look!!" Azul showed his scratched hand, eliciting a gasp from Idia.

"She did this to you??" Idia held the injured hand softly, examining the scratches.

"That's not all! She murdered Mr. Ururu too! And ruined our furniture!" Azul pulled Idia to the living room and showed him the crime scene. His eyes got pulled to the pile of dirt on the ground again. He walked to it and sat on the floor, finally feeling the exhaustion from the day. "Now Mr. Ururu is dead..." he felt tears gathering in his eyes.

Idia didn't know Azul had that much affection towards the plant and he was being so dramatic. But at least it was a chance for Idia to play the comforting boyfriend role. He went to his room to look for a container and brought it to the living room. Azul was rubbing his eyes, trying not to show that he was tearing up. 

"It's alright Azul-shi, Mr. Ururu is tougher than this. He'll live." As Idia was speaking he gathered the soil and put them in the container. He carefully picked up the still fully intact plant and gently set it in the soil. He handed the makeshift pot to Azul.

"There, good as new." He wanted to pat Azul's head but his hand was dirty from the soil so he pecked his cheek instead. Azul just stared at the plant in his hands, face in a slight pout. Idia stood up from his position on the floor.

"Now to scold the troublemaker."

Walking to the kitchen, Idia made a mental reminder to find someone to fix the sofa, or to buy a new one. In the kitchen, he washed his hands and saw Princess licking her sides. On closer inspection, Idia could see that she has wet patches of fur all around her body. 

"Did Azul spray you with water? Well serves you right." Idia crouched down to her level. 

"Why did you make a mess of the house Princess, you know Azul-shi will get mad right?" Idia felt bad looking at the drenched cat, even if he knew she deserved it. He scratched behind her ears and she pushed her head towards his hand. 

"Hehehe cute. Wait no I'm supposed to scold you." Idia got side-tracked by her cuteness, which was a daily occurrence really. He picked her up and made her face directly at him. 

"Don't scratch the furniture okay? I already bought the scratching post for you. And don't jump on the tables and push the plants. Or else I will bite you." He playfully bit her ear which resulted in her pushing her paw at his face. "Meeew~" 

Satisfied with the confrontation, Idia went back to the living room to clean up the area. There, he found Azul sleeping on the (undamaged) side of the sofa. Idia only noticed now that he was still in his work uniform. 'My poor boyfriend. He must've been tired.'

Idia gently shook his shoulder. "Azul-shi, you should change first. And sleep on your bed." Azul only made some incoherent noises and curled into himself. 

"Okay~ I'm carrying you to bed then~" He slid his arm under Azul's knees and the other under his back and raised him up. He carried him to his room and put him on the bed. Seeing as Azul showed no signs of waking up, Idia helped take off his glasses, tie and pants. A shirt and boxers sounds comfortable enough for Idia. He then noticed the scratch marks on the sleeping man's hand. 

Taking the first aid box from the toilet, Idia started cleaning up the scratches. He took a wet tissue and wiped the hand. Feeling the cool sensation on his hand, Azul cracked open his eyes. 

"I'm just gonna put some antiseptic on it. Do you want me to put plaster on them?" Idia asked. Azul shook his head. 

"Okay." After wiping down the hand, Idia took a cotton bud and dipped them in antiseptic. He then rubbed the cotton bud over the scratches. He looked up from his task and saw Azul staring. Idia felt like he should say something.

"I'm sorry. I already scold Princess and told her to behave. Please don't throw her away?" Finished with the task, Idia held Azul's hand with both his hand.

Azul gave a sleepy grin. "Of course I won't. But this is a warning. If she does something like this again I'll force her into a cage."

Idia kissed Azul's hand. "Thank you. I love you~" He stood up from where he was sitting on the floor and went to change. Azul pulled the blanket over himself. 

"You only say you love me when it concerns Princess. I feel used." 

"Wha- that's not true! I've told you I love you a lot of times!" Idia laid down on 'his' side of the bed and pulled Azul close. "You know I love you every day right? I've loved you even before we had Princess."

Azul reached a hand up and pinched his cheek. "I was only joking. I love you too Idia-san. Goodnight."

"Haaaaaa Azul is mean~"

* * *

After the incident, Idia made sure to warn Princess every time before he goes to work. "Princess, behave yourself. No more scratching the sofa, no more pushing plants. Or else you'll find yourself in a cage, and we wouldn't want that do we?" Idia scratched her back, making her purr. 

"Nyeow~"

"Good girl."

Things went back to normal after that. Idia got the armchair replaced and the sofa fixed, and Mr. Ururu was thriving well. There were no new scratches, and Azul didn't complain about Princess, so Idia thought the war was over. He didn't know that it was merely a temporary ceasefire.

It was Saturday and both of them had the day off. Despite that, Azul was up early and was cooking breakfast for the both of them. Idia was also reluctantly awake because he was missing his favourite personal pillow and he had to feed Princess. 

"Happy eating my Princess~" Idia petted her and she proceeded to eat her premium quality cat food in her shiny white cat bowl. 

The sweet smell of pancakes filled the air. Idia stood behind Azul, observing him flipping the fluffy confectionery in the pan. He was rarely in the kitchen due to his lack of skills in cooking, and usually only wakes up when the food was already served. Feeling thankful for Azul's efforts, Idia wrapped his arms around Azul and propped his head on his shoulder. 

"Bless Azul-shi for feeding me with the best foods."

Azul laughed. "Well I can't let my giant cat go hungry now can I?"

In response to the cat comparison Idia let out a "nyaaa~!" and nuzzled his face to Azul's neck, eliciting giggles from the smaller man. 

"Meeew! Meow!"

Interrupting the moment, Princess started meowing loudly and looked at the both of them.

"Oh, you're done eating Princess?" Idia detached himself from Azul and crouched down to be closer to the cat. Princess rubbed herself around Idia's legs. Idia picked her up and rubbed her face to his. 

Azul observed the interaction from the corner of his eyes. He sighed dramatically. "If only my giant cat didn't have a cat on his own."

"Are you jealous? Don't worry, Azul-shi is always number one in my heart." Even while saying that, Idia was busy playing with Princess. Azul rolled his eyes.

"Sure..." Azul mumbled, watching Idia chase the cat around.

\----

"Idia-san do you want Coke or Pepsi?"

"Pepsi please. Can you bring the snacks too?"

"Yes, on it."

Saturday night means Movie Night. They make it a tradition to watch a movie every Saturday night just to spend time together. This night they were watching "Enchanted" picked by Idia. He was setting up the movie and Azul brought the snacks and drinks to the coffee table. The blankets were also prepared on the sofa. 

The intro to the movie began. Idia took a bag of chips and settled in. Azul took some biscuits and sat next to Idia.

The movie was nice. Azul was entertained with all the singing they did. Halfway through the movie, he rested his head on Idia's shoulder, feeling a bit sleepy. 

"Wanna lie down?" Idia asked, seeing Azul's eyes drooping. It wasn't anything new, sometimes either one of them would get sleepy and they would just cuddle while the other finishes the movie.

Before Azul could answer, Princess yowled and jumped into Idia's lap. Automatically, Idia's hand scratched behind her ears and she purred. 

"You want to watch the movie too Princess?"

The cat turned around and lied down on Idia's lap. She curled up and made herself comfortable.

"Is my lap more comfortable than your soft plush bed?"

Azul lifted his head from Idia's shoulder and got up from the sofa.

"Azul-shi?"

"Sorry Idia-san, but I think I'll just go ahead and sleep properly in bed." He took a blanket with him and walked towards his room.

"Oh. Okay. Goodnight-" 

He didn't get to finish before Azul closed the door to his room. 

Idia sighed. He wasn't oblivious to the lingering tension between Azul and Princess. He doesn't want the situation to continue. He picked up the cat lying on his lap and brought her face-to-face.

"Listen here Princess. I love you, you know that right? The moment I saw you in front of our apartment block I knew we were meant to be. But you know Azul-shi? Love of my life Azul Ashengrotto? He has been with me since I was a no good hermit back in high school. He accepted me as I am and every day I'm still grateful to have met him. I still remember the day I accidently told him my feelings, best mistake ever. Oh, I'm getting off-topic." He put Princess down. The cat still looked at him, ears flicking as if asking him to continue.

"The thing is, I care about him a lot. And I want him to be happy. I love him, and I don't want to pick between you and him. You won't make me do that right? We can live together peacefully can't we? Can you give him a chance?" 

"Meow." Princess went back on his lap and rubbed her head against Idia's stomach. Idia thinks she got the message.

Azul quietly closed his door. He was about to go out of the room to take some water when he heard Idia talking. He listened to the whole thing. He couldn't hold back his grin. 

'Idia-san, you're too cute!'

He went back to bed, reminiscing the happy memories he shared with Idia during high school.

* * *

The next day Azul went to the kitchen to make breakfast as usual. Idia didn't come to his room last night and Azul saw him sleeping on the sofa while on his way to the kitchen. 

In the kitchen, Princess was waiting at her food bowl, blue eyes looking at him expectantly. Azul put her food in the bowl and she promptly went to eat it. Azul gave a soft pat on her head. She didn't flinch and if Azul was being hopeful, he heard a low purr coming from her. She finished eating and looked at Azul. Azul looked at her.

"Meow." She walked towards Azul and rubbed herself around Azul's leg. Azul smiled.

It seems the war was finally over.

* * *

**Omake**

"Azuu~ul, hey give some attention to me," Idia whined.

"Idia-san I am busy grooming Princess. You can sit over there and wait." Azul continued brushing Princess' pretty white fur with the comb. Her royal highness was comfortably perched on Azul's lap, purring.

"At least let me pat-"

"No!" "Hiss!"

Azul slapped his hand and Princess hissed at him.

"Waaaaah you're both so mean!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally done with this one! Not entirely happy with it but I've worked on it for so long and I just want to get it done with so I can work on other things xD
> 
> Idia and Azul are one of my favourite ships and I hope I did them justice. I totally didn't write this because I was annoyed with my cat, of course not. No cats or plants were harmed in the making of this fic <3
> 
> Tell me if you liked it, share your favourite parts, yell at me or whatever. I would appreciate any comments, be it on the content, grammar or even the format and technicalities. 
> 
> I would say 'drop a ship or character you want me to work on next!' but unfortunately I already have plans so we'll just have to wait and see what will come out next (hint: it's a character related to food ;D)


	3. Tangled up in your blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They haven't seen each other for years... only to meet up again in the most unexpected situation.  
> At least Idia didn't have to see his eyes that reminded him of that blue sky.

"Great... this is just great."

"If your definition of great is being tied up with your ex and kept in an abandoned warehouse as hostages with your magic sealed... then I question your sanity Idia Shroud."

Idia groaned and pulled at the ropes tying his hands behind his back.

"Oi, stop that, you're pulling my hands too!" Azul complained. 

"Oh I'm sorry that your dainty little hands are being pulled. I don't know about you but _I'm_ trying to escape." huffed the blue-haired man.

Azul scoffed. "Who's fault was it that we're in this situation in the first place?"

  
\--

'Man, they're persistent' Idia thought as he ran away from two mobs chasing him in through the alley. He merely ~~took~~ stole some of the Megranite stored in the company's vault. They had a whole cabinet of it anyway! It wouldn't hurt to give some to him. They probably obtained the material through illegal means so it wasn't like Idia was the only criminal here.

"Give it back, Shroud!"

Oh, seems like he made a name for himself. It must be the flaming blue hair. His appearance was never one to blend in and he never intended to get himself in public trouble, but things happened. 

He kept running and ended up in an open space, an area once used as a construction site. There were unfinished buildings at the side, its concrete walls bare and open. Idia ran into one of the buildings. He skidded to a stop, shocked at seeing that there were two people inside the building. 

The people inside both turned to look at the sound of his steps. If Idia was shocked then, he was further surprised at seeing the person's face. 

"Azul?!" 

His hair was a bit different, slightly longer than they used to be since the last time Idia saw him, but there was no mistaking those sky blue eyes. Those blue eyes that are staring back at him, wide with surprise and-

A weight crashed on his back and he found himself being pinned to the floor. "Gotcha thief!" The man restrained Idia's arms and put his full weight on him. Idia was about to use his magic when he felt something cold being pressed to his neck. Suddenly he felt his magic halted.

'Shit, it's a magic muzzler.' He had experience with similar devices before, being one to help develop some of them but all his attempts to override it was not working.

The man on top of him sneered. "Give it up, this one's the latest model and no one has ever broke through it."

"What is going on here?" the other person aside from Azul asked the mobs who were chasing and currently holding Idia down.

"We found him stealing Megranite, boss."

The "boss" looked at Azul sharply. "Is he working with you?"

Azul calmly smiled, but Idia could see his hand twitching slightly. He was nervous.

"I assure you I have no idea who that is."

Ouch. Idia knew it was probably the best for Azul to not acknowledge him, but he would admit it hurt, maybe just a little bit. He wasn't a fool though, so he kept quiet.

"If I may speak up boss," one of the mobs said. "I believe this is Shroud, and I've heard rumours that he is involved with Mr. Ashengrotto here."

Unfortunately, Idia didn't quite get rid of his habit of blurting out his blunt unfiltered thoughts, and this talk of the rumour just activated it. 

"Why is this rumour still going around? We've dated for a while in high school and broke up. It's been 5 years already, can you people move on and start some other rumours? Hey, I've heard the second Prince of Afterglow Savannah has a secret lover from a different country. How about that eh?" 

The boss glared at Azul. "So you do know each other."

The spectacled man kept his poker face but Idia could tell he's really panicking now. He was blinking faster. 

"Okay, I did know him once, but I swear this has nothing to do with-"

"I don't care! I've been wary of you from the beginning of our dealings. Take him away!"

Without waiting for an explanation, the other mob quickly went to restrain Azul. He tried to get away but it seems the years didn't add any muscles on him and he was effectively caught by the taller, bulkier mob who pressed the magic muzzler to his neck as well.

\--  
  


And here they are, restrained both physically and magically. They were both seated on a chair, back to back, hands tied together and feet tied to the chair legs.

"Can't believe I got captured on a Friday. It was supposed to be a quick snatch and run and then off to enjoy my weekend but here I am," Idia sighed.

"Really? How did you expect to escape the two people chasing you earlier? With your level of stamina I'm surprised you were even running in the first place."

Idia turned his head to the side, only being able to see a portion of the back of Azul's head, and glared. "I was about to use my magic until _someone_ decided to be there out of nowhere and made me lose focus."

"Aww, were you distracted by my pretty face? Were you surprised by how much beautiful I am now?" Idia could practically see the arrogant smirk on his face. He rolled his eyes, not that the other could see it.

"Yeah right. You look so-so." In truth Idia didn't get to observe his ex for that long. He only remembered that his beauty mark was still as prominent as ever, just there below his lips. His soft, pink-

"Was it true what you said about Leona-san?" 

His thought was disrupted by Azul's sudden question.

"Oh, what I said earlier? Yeah it's true, not that anyone would believe it," he snorted.

The smaller man behind him hummed in thought. "So they're still together after all this time?"

"Yeah. I'll admit I'm surprised."

"Really? You thought they'd break up?"

Idia raised his head up in thought. "Not that they'd break up but... I thought it was merely a high school thing. Puppy love."

"Like what we used to be?" The question was asked quietly, like Azul didn't really want to say it. 

Idia didn't answer.

It was quiet between them.

_Idia still remembers the break up. They argued over a lot of small things and they all start to pile up. Harsh words were thrown, words that were not meant from the heart but words meant to hurt. Prides and egos were wounded. They were young, they were emotional. They planned for different paths and it seemed harder and harder to be together. In the end they decided to end it._

_A few weeks before Idia's graduation, they met under the big tree in the campus. Sweaters, plushies and games were returned. Tired, puffy eyes didn't meet each other. Two hearts were left a bit broken._

_People say you don't know what you have until you lose them, and Idia only knew then how much joy and excitement Azul brought to his daily mundane life. It took a while for Idia to get used to the quiet nights without Azul ranting about whatever happened during his day._

_But life happens and time keeps moving. His heart may always have that missing piece, but at least it didn't ache anymore._

"Are you seeing anyone, Idia-san?" Azul's voice was even, Idia couldn't tell why he was asking that question. 

"What, like a therapist or hallucinations?" he snickered. Might as well try to make the atmosphere a bit lighter right?

"Hahaha, very funny. You know what I mean." Despite his attempt at being serious, Idia could detect the slight amusement in Azul's voice.

But Idia didn't answer. At least not immediately. 

"...No."

"Oh? Really?" Azul sounded genuine is his surprise.

"Yeah, never really met anyone I liked enough."

What Idia didn't say is that he's never met anyone who understood him as much as Azul did, no one who shared the same interests and listened to him while he excitedly explains a new mechanism, no one who had intense blue eyes that Idia would remember fondly every time he looked at the sky on a sunny day. He tried meeting a few new people, but his mind would always come back to Azul and make a comparison. It wasn't fair to the other person.

So yeah, Idia never really got into any relationship.

"How about you? Anyone worth sharing your fried chickens with?"

Azul laughed at the unexpected question, Idia feeling the slight shake from their tied hands. He found himself smiling at the sound of the melodic laughter and at the linked memory.

There was once a time when Azul would treat himself to some fried chicken and shared it with Idia, deliberately explaining that he would never share fried chicken with anyone, not even the twins so Idia should feel really honoured. And he did, always making sure that Azul had a bigger share of the chicken.

"I just don't have the time, juggling between managing a restaurant and dealings at the side are a full time work," Azul answered after his laughter subsided. 

"No time for chicken?"

Azul chuckled. "There's always time for chicken. No time for a special person though."

Idia hummed in response.   
  


Silence filled the air.  
  


Idia estimated the amount of time that passed after they were both captured. He figured about 15 minutes have passed. 

This time he was the one who broke the silence, feeling unsettled by the things he left unspoken.

"I'm sorry, Azul-shi. About what I said and did back then."

"Woah, being trapped here making you pour your heart out or something?" Azul said, voice dripped with sarcasm. 

"I mean it. I've thought about apologizing a number of times, but I thought maybe you wouldn't want to do anything with me anymore. You changed your number too."

"You could always track me down. You have the means for it." Azul countered, sounding upset.

Idia sighed. "I know. I just- I'm sorry." He could only apologize, not finding the words to convey his feelings.  
  


A beat of silence passed.  
  


Azul cleared his throat. "You weren't the only one at fault. I made it difficult for the both of us too. And I would also like to apologize for that."

Hearing that, Idia chuckled. 

Azul was flustered. "What? I can't let you take all the blame, and I'm sorry on my part too!"

"No, I'm not laughing at you. It's just that... our apologies always ended up this way didn't they?"

One of them would give in first and apologize, and the other would apologize as well. Then they'd both laugh at the ridiculousness of their fight and make it up to each other by going out on an ice-cream date. Idia would order cookies and cream, and Azul would order caramel, and they'd both end up sharing it.

Azul giggled, probably remembering the memories as well. 

"Well then Idia-san, I guess we should go get some ice-cream." 

"Eh?"

Idia felt the ropes around his hands loosening, and undoing altogether. 

"How did you-"

"My small dainty hands do have their merits," Azul proclaimed proudly.

With their hands untied, they both worked on the ropes binding their feet. How careless. Even if they couldn't use magic, the mobs shouldn't just tie them with ropes and called it a day. Well, unfortunate for the mobs, lucky for them. 

Now freed from his bindings, Idia turned to look at his companion. He was rubbing his wrist, probably sore from slipping through the ropes earlier. Finally facing each other, Idia observed his former lover. 

The blueish-silver of his hair, shiny and framing his small face, his oh-so-prominent beauty mark, his soft-looking lips, the curve of his nose, and his eyes. His beautiful blue eyes that Idia remembers sparkled with joy, clouded with worry and shined with tears. Those eyes looking at him with wonder, amusement, anger and sorrow. Those same eyes that were blinking at him.

"-ello? Earth to Idia-san? Are you malfunctioning?" Azul was waving his hand in front of Idia's face.

"Azul-shi, actually I lied to you about something."

"What?"

"You don't look so-so. You look really beautiful."

What happened next was a sight Idia used to see a number of times when they were together. It starts from the cheeks and spreads from there. Azul's face was now fully flushed, eyes darting everywhere but at Idia.

"I- that- t-thanks, I guess..." he mumbled out the last part.

Before Idia could think of anything else, the door to the room was kicked open. 

"Why are you both taking so long?! At least kiss or something! I got so tired of waiting!" Floyd yelled, entering the room. 

"HIEE! F-FLOYD AND JADE??" Idia was startled to see the Leech twins.

A familiar flying skull also came to the room from the entrance. "I'm here too Nii-san! Or at least, Skullz is." Ortho was controlling the skull remotely, a skill they've developed a few years ago.

"My apologies for being late Azul, we had to take care of the guards at the front," Jade said, a hand on his chest. 

Azul was not convinced. "I'm sure that didn't take you so much time. How long have you three been waiting outside this room?"

Floyd groaned as he draped himself over Azul. "Long enough that I got tired of waiting. We thought we'd wait until you beat each other up or anything but you two were so boring that I couldn't take it anymore." 

If Azul was bothered by what the eel brother said then he didn't show it on his face. "You should've come sooner. We have a lot of things to do now that this deal is cancelled."

Idia turned to look at the floating skull. "Ortho, you have the counter-measure for this muzzler?"

Skullz, their nickname for the device, lit up green. "Yup, I have it right here!"

The device floated to the small circular metal at Idia's neck and a thin green laser shot out from Skullz and to the metal. The muzzler fell off and Idia felt his magic being let loose.

"Shall I do the same for Azul Ashengrotto-san?" Ortho asked.

Only then did Idia notice the trio looking expectantly at him. 

"O-of course Ortho, please do."

Skullz did the same for Azul and the metal fell off. 

"Thank you, Ortho-kun."

"No problem! Anything for a friend of Nii-san."

Right. Azul was a friend right?

"Shall we go now Azul? The car is waiting outside," said Jade.

"Yes, we should."

Skullz floated around Idia. "We should go too Nii-san, before the mobs come back. Celty is on its way here."

The group moved out of the room. Outside, a white Tesla was waiting at a side of the road. Along with the sound of rumbling engine, Celty, Idia's automated superbike, came zooming by and stopped at the site. 

"Well, I guess this is goodbye then," said Azul.

The twins had went ahead and waited in the car, leaving Azul with Idia. As if reading the situation, Skullz also went and attached itself to Celty. 

"Oh, uh... yeah." Idia didn't know what to do. He was glad that they finally forgave each other, but was that it? Are they back to being strangers again?

Azul laughed a little seeing Idia's troubled face. "Don't worry Idia-san, I'm sure we'll meet again," he waved his hand around and turned to walk to the car. 

"Goodbye Azul," Idia reluctantly said.

"See you soon, Idia-san." Azul smiled, getting in the car and closing the door. Idia watched the car drive away.

Sighing, he headed to Celty. While walking he put his hand in his pocket as a habit and felt his hand touch paper. He didn't remember having anything in his pocket, so he took it out. It was a blue paper, with neat writings on it.

_Let's share ice-cream? We can catch up properly with each other there._

_I'll wait at our usual shop._

_-A.A_

Idia folded the piece of paper and stuffed it in his pocket. Grinning, he put on his helmet and revved up the engine.

Who knew that from the unfortunate situation, Idia would look forward to seeing blue skies again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually supposed to be working on an Epel-centric humor thing but here I am, dropping another Idiazul fic out of nowhere xD
> 
> Honestly, I just had a small scene in my head in the morning and felt like writing it down and skip the whole day and suddenly we have this baby. 
> 
> I can't believe I wrote this in one whole day. A bit proud of it but I'm posting it while I'm sleepy so yeah might have some errors here and there. But oh well, enjoy!


	4. Epel's Sneezing Adventures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epel is tasked to observe the sneeze of those around him and learn how to sneeze properly. Just what is a proper sneeze anyway?
> 
> Epel-centric, attempt at humor

"Deuce-kun, can you sneeze for me?"

"...eh?"

_~bibbity bobbity boo~_

It all began one rainy day.

Epel was heading back to the dorm when it started raining. He ran as fast as he could but ultimately got drenched by the time he entered the dorm. Carefully stepping around the many carpets lining the dorm lounge, he headed to the dorm bathrooms. On his way, he crossed paths with Vil and the ever-faithful Rook with him. 

"Epel! Why are you making wet trails around the dorm? Get changed into dry clothes immediately!" Vil scolded him.

"Yes Vil-san, I'm on my way to change right now."

Luckily, Vil let him off with a stern glare and walked away. Rook merely smiled at him and waved. Sighing, Epel continued making his way to the bathroom. Suddenly hit with the cold wind of the dorm, Epel shivered. His nose started feeling cold. He felt a sneeze coming.

"Haa.. _**HATCHOOU!!!**_ "

He rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, not knowing his sneeze made the two seniors who were in the hallway stop in their tracks. 

Rook looked at Vil with wide eyes. "Just now... what... was that?"

"An atomic bomb of a sneeze is what it is. Epel Felmier! Come here!" Vil called out angrily.

Surprised at the sudden command, Epel turned back around to see the dorm leader with his arms crossed. Hesitantly, Epel walked back to him. "...yes?"

"What was that just now?"

"Eh?" Epel stopped and think. He merely sneezed... oh! Manners!

"Aah, excuse me...?"

"There is no excusing that horrendous sneeze. You sounded like my grandfather. Whenever he sneezed the whole house would hear it and it felt like the ground shook."

Epel wasn't sure what to do with the information and merely kept silent. He thought he sneezed like everyone else...?

Vil continued talking. "Thank goodness we found out about this early. Okay, I'm assigning you a task. I want you to observe people's sneezes and learn how to sneeze properly."

"Eh? Haa??"

_~bibbity bobbity boo~_

"...and so now I need to learn how to sneeze _properly_." Epel sighed, recalling how he got into the predicament to Deuce and Ace. The three of them were in the lecture hall, waiting for class to start. 

Deuce hummed in thought. "A proper sneeze huh? I never really thought about it."

"Using common sense, isn't it enough to just cover your nose and mouth?" He put his arms behind his head. "Anyway, why can't your dorm leader just show you himself the "proper" sneeze?"

"I did ask him about it. But according to him, he doesn't sneeze."

"Haa? There's no way he doesn't sneeze. Sounds to me like he just wants to make you suffer."

Epel groaned. "Well anyway, now that you know my problem, please sneeze for me Deuce-kun."

Deuce looked troubled. "Of course I want to help you Epel, but I can't just sneeze on the spot."

Ace laughed and got up from his seat. "I have just the thing for that."

He aimed his magic pen at Deuce.

 _Salagadoola mechicka boola  
_ _Bibbity bobbity boo  
__Send a cold breeze, make the nose itch,  
__Deliver a good ah-choo!_

Magically, with the power of magic, Deuce felt his nose itch.

"Haa.. HATCHIOU!!"

Ace flinched away from him. "Oh god, dude cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze! That's common sense!"

"I wasn't ready for it! At least I aimed it downwards and away from your face!" Deuce argued. 

The redhead sighed in exasperation. "Epel, maybe bring Deuce along with you for your studies..."

"Deuce-kun's sneeze aside, what was that spell you did Ace-kun?" Epel eagerly asked.

Ace smirked and crossed his arms. "It's a sneezing hex. My brother used to cast it on me whenever I'm building a card tower."

"Ah, the infamous Trappola brother..." Deuce has heard stories about him.

Epel was ecstatic. "Teach me! This way I'll surely be able to observe people sneezing!"

And thus began Epel's adventures...

_~bibbity bobbity boo~_

Epel's first (technically second) ~~victim~~ test subject was his classmate, Jack Howl. 

After learning the spell from Ace, Epel went with Deuce to find the Savanaclaw first year. They found him stretching near the field. His ears perked up when he noticed the two of them.

"Epel? What are you doing here? And Deuce, why are you still in uniform, our club is about to start soon."

The lavender haired boy aimed his magic pen at Jack.

 _Salagadoola mechicka boola  
_ _Bibbity bobbity boo  
_ _Send a cold breeze, make the nose itch,  
_ _Deliver a good ah-choo!_

"What are youaah- aCHOO!"

Jack's sneeze was pretty normal. He was better than Deuce, because he covered his nose and mouth with his hands. "What did you just do?" he asked, looking accusingly at Epel.

"Deuce and I are on a mission to observe people's sneeze. Thank you for your cooperation Jack-kun." Epel smiled innocently at the wolf.

Jack scratched his head. "It's not like I had a choice? Wait, how many people have you attacked with your spell?" 

Epel frowned. "Don't make it sound so aggressive, it's a harmless spell. And you're only our second victi- person to observe." 

"Well I guess it can be pretty alarming to just go up to a person and aim your magic pen at them. Maybe we should think of a better way to do this" Deuce commented.

The sound of a whistle blowing interrupted their conversation. It was the coach getting on the field.

"Crap I should hurry and change! See you later Epel." Deuce ran off to the changing rooms.

"I should be going, my club is also starting soon. Bye Jack-kun!" Epel waved goodbye to Jack as he too walked off the field.

The Pomefiore first year was thinking hard about how to approach a person for the observation. He was thinking of all sort of ways and reached the locker room, where some of his club members are changing. He saw Leona and Ruggie on one end of the lockers. An idea formed in his head.

'How far does this spell actually reach...?'

Stealthily, Epel hid behind the other end of the locker. The other two did not notice his presence when he entered and now he is hidden from their sight. Epel peeked at his two club seniors and aimed his magic pen at their general direction.

 _Salagadoola mechicka boola  
_ _Bibbity bobbity boo  
__Send a cold breeze, make the nose itch,  
__Deliver a good ah-choo!_

Just for added effect, Epel waved his magic pen around while casting. He waited for a bit. There was no sound of sneezing. Epel could hear the low murmur of them conversing.

**_psshhht_ **

He was slightly disappointed. He hoped the spell worked from afar.

**_psshhht_ **

Hmm that was weird. The automatic air freshener was spraying at quite a fast pace.

**_ppsshhht_ **

It sprayed again!

"Oi, quit sneezing."

"It's not like I can help it! **_Ppsshhht!_** "

'It's.. Ruggie-san?!' Epel came out from his hiding spot and acted nonchalant. He observed the two seniors.

"Ugh, is it something in the air? I'm also- _shhftt!_ "

'Oh! Leona-san's sneeze!' He saw the lion's face scrunched up and the way his ears flattened. 

"Whatever, I'm gonna go out first- **_ppsshhht!_** " Ruggie sneezed again and groaned, rubbing his slightly red nose.

The two of them headed to the door and passed Epel. 

Ruggie greeted him. "Yo Epel-kun. You better change fast, there seems to be something weird in the air here."

"Ah, is that so? I'll be quick then."

The two Savanaclaw students went out, letting out a few sneezes on their way. Epel felt slightly bad for making them sneeze too much. It must've been the frantic pen waving that made the spell extra strong.

Oh well, at least he got the job done.

And with the confirmation that the spell worked from afar, Epel continued his adventure, sneakily casting a sneezing spell over the unsuspecting students of Night Raven College...

_~bibbity bobbity boo~_

Epel sighed. It's been a week since he started his Sneeze Observation Diary, also dubbed as SOD by the ever helpful Ace. He's observed so many different sneezes, but he still hasn't figured out what a proper sneeze is. 

It was currently break time, and he was sitting under the apple tree in the courtyard. He was brought out of his thoughts when a person approached him.

"Epel. Mind if I join you under the tree?"

It was Sebek, the tall first year towering over him, holding a few notebooks in his hand.

"I don't mind. Have a seat." Epel patted the spot next to him. With the permission, Sebek sat down, folding his legs neatly. Even while sitting down, his posture was impeccable as always, back straight and chin up. He opened one of his books and started reading it.

Epel also went back to the SOD, sighing again. The green-haired Diasomnia student noticed his sad expression.

"What's wrong? Something bothering you?" 

"Ah, it's nothing. It's just this task Vil-san gave me, I don't think I've managed to figure out the answer."

"A task from your dorm leader?! What an honour! What's the task?"

"Long story short, I need to learn to sneeze properly. I've already observed a number of people but I still can't figure it out. Here, have a look at our observation. Oh yeah, Deuce-kun came along with me too sometimes."

Epel showed the SOD to Sebek.

 **Sneeze Observation Diary**

**Deuce**

  * loud, similar to mine. doesn't cover his mouth and nose. needs time to be ready for a sneeze?
  * Ace said we should cover our mouth and nose



**Jack**

  * a good solid ah-choo. covers his sneeze with his hands. surprisingly cute.
  * Jack covers his mouth and nose. we should do it too.



**  
Ruggie-senpai**

  * legit thought he was the automatic scent spray. small and quiet, but rapid.
  * he continuously sneezed so after a while he took out some tissues from his pocket and used it to cover his sneeze. how interesting.



**Leona-senpai**

  * much more quiet than expected. barely sounds like an ah-choo, more like psshshshsh.
  * doesn't cover his mouth or nose. Ruggie-san threw the tissue packet at him after the third sneeze.



*when the Savanaclaw students sneeze, their ears flatten and their tails shake. Deuce-kun says Grim does the same. Must be a beastmen thing.

**Riddle-san**

  * the most uncomfortable sneeze I've ever heard. sounds like he swallows the sneeze. it's like he tries so hard to not let it come out. it feels so restrained. almost wanted to tell him "just let it out!!" but Deuce stopped me.
  * his nose turned red very quickly too. he sneezed into his hands and asked for a tissue from Trey-san. aside from wiping his nose he wiped his hands as well. guess you should clean your hands too. not like he had any germs on his hand anyway, with the way he held back his sneeze ugh



**Trey-san**

  * fast reflexes. he felt the sneeze coming and took out a handkerchief from his pocket (oooh!) and used it.
  * he looked very gentleman-ly. best one so far I think.



**Kalim-san**

  * he dabs. HE DABS! WHEN HE SNEEZES!
  * oh so apparently that's a pretty good way to cover your sneeze cos it goes into your elbow pocket and so your hands are clean



**Jade-san**

  * ...the spell didn't work?
  * THAT WAS THE SCARIEST EXPERIENCE IN MY LIFE HE STARED RIGHT INTO MY SOUL HIS MOUTH WAS SMILING BUT HIS EYES SAID MURDER HOW DID HE FIND US



  
"What happened here?" Sebek asked, reading over the notes at Jade.

Epel shuddered. "It was super scary. I'm pretty sure me and Deuce were like, 3 feet away from him. We cast the spell, and his nose twitched a bit. And then nothing happened. He looked around and saw us and stared with a psychotic look I swear my life flashed before my eyes, thank god Deuce pulled me and we ran."

"That... sounds like an experience..." Sebek continued reading the diary. 

**Cater-san**

  * he... he lifts his feet up when he sneezed. WHAT IS THAT RIDICULOUS ACTION (it's like in those movies when the girl gets kissed and her feet pop up) WHAT IS THAT
  * apparently his sisters tend to do that and he picked it up... do those siblings think they're princesses or what...



**Azul-san**

  * he sneezes continuously. and yells in between. it was pretty amusing. he went like "hachoo! AAAGGGHHha- hachoo! URRGHHHH! ...HACHOO HAAA STOP EEET"
  * the first sneeze he covered with his arm and then he took a tissue. i think there was some ink on the tissue after he sneezed. interesting.



**Ace** (GOTCHA!)

  * finally got him while he was shooting for a basket hehehehe
  * he missed the shot because he quickly threw the ball and pulled up the collar of his jersey to cover his sneeze (I think he saw us but we ran right after)



**Floyd-san**

  * he doesn't cover his sneeze and just aims it downwards, which is pretty bad because he's so tall so
  * after observing a number of people and seeing his sneeze I guess I understand why Vil-san was so angry with my sneeze...



**Jamil-san**

  * oh no it's another constricted sneeze. hehe he makes a really high squeaking sound tho, it's cute <\---Deuce wrote this not me
  * for the second time I feared for my life he was looking around and I think he might have found us hiding behind the pillar. are these people trained assassins or something?? maybe I should stop this observation



**Ortho-kun**

  * he doesn't sneeze because Idia-san said he didn't install the function because he didn't need to sneeze as his nose and mouth are filtered with the selitorator(?) and no foreign particles would be in his airway and the ventitalor(?) is
  * I give up. bottom line is he doesn't sneeze.



**Idia-san** (according to Ortho-kun)

  * pretty normal, if it's a strong sneeze he'd be lifted from his chair from the force of it
  * apparently the tips of his hair flare up (?) when he sneezes



"You observed this many people? That's amazing work." Sebek was impressed at the long list of notes. "I don't see a lot of Diasomnia students in your list?"

Epel looked sheepish at that. "I'm just a bit intimidated. A lot of Diasomnia students excel in practical magic so I was afraid they might catch me casting the spell."

"I'm sure if you explained your reasons they'll be happy to help you. You can cast it on me and observe my sneeze." 

"Ah really?" Epel didn't have that many classes with Sebek and the Diasomnia first year was always around Malleus, so Epel didn't have the chance to observe him. "Okay then, here I go."

 _Salagadoola mechicka boola  
_ _Bibbity bobbity boo  
__Send a cold breeze, make the nose itch,  
__Deliver a good ah-choo!_

Epel saw it, the nose scrunch, the fluttering eyes, deep inhale and- 

"Ah-choo!"

'Hmm so Sebek-kun is also similar to Trey-senpai,' Epel observed. Sebek used his arm to cover his sneeze and even while doing so he managed to maintain his regal posture. Epel was lowkey impressed. 

"How was it?"

"It was good. I never thought an uptight person like you would be able to sneeze," Epel teased him.

Sebek crossed his arms, looking proud. "We as soldiers of Waka-sama are trained to have strong body control. We can't let ourselves be caught acting in such atrocious manner. In fact we-"

The lavender haired boy tuned out Sebek and let his mind wonder and conjured up the image of the famous Diasomnia quartet. Rain and strong breeze washed over them. Sebek sneezes like just now. The others? Blank.

"Have you seen Malleus-senpai sneeze?"

Sebek was stopped mid-sentence with Epel's question. 

"Of course I've seen him sneeze, what kind of protector would I be if I've never seen him sneeze!"

"So what is it like?"

"When Malleus-sama sneezes he-" Sebek frowned. He pursed his lips in thought. 

"Actually... now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen him sneeze. Perhaps a perfect being like him is immune to such humanly acts."

"Are you curious? Should we try the spell on him?" Epel prompted him.

Sebek looks conflicted. "I can't let you cast such a troublesome spell on him. But I am slightly curious..." he mumbled out the last part.

"He'll be fine! It's a harmless spell, you let me cast it on you, and no one got hurt during my observation. Shouldn't you know how he sneezes so that you'd know how to act accordingly _when_ he sneezes?" 

Sebek frowned in thought. "...you have a point. But if anything happens to Malleus-sama I won't forgive you!"

Epel smirked in secret. With Sebek around, he could partly put blame on him if anything were to happen with the Diasomnia seniors. 

_~bibbity bobbity boo~_

Malleus was sitting at a table in the courtyard with Lilia and Silver, enjoying their lunch. Epel and Sebek were hiding behind a pillar of the closest building. From their viewpoint, they could see Malleus sipping his tea and listening to Lilia talking. Silver had his back to them, probably sleeping judging from his unmoving position. 

"Why do we have to hide again? Shouldn't we just tell them what we want to do?" Sebek looks uneasy.

"I've told you, we need the genuine reaction. It won't work if they know it's coming." Epel hopes Sebek doesn't question it too much.

Malleus put down his teacup and conversed with Lilia.

"Okay, now's the time." Epel pointed his magic pen towards the trio's direction.

 _Salagadoola mechicka boola  
_ _Bibbity bobbity boo_  
_Send a cold breeze, make the nose itch,  
__Deliver a good ah-choo!_

It hit Lilia first. The small third year frowned, and took a breath. 

"A-tishoo!"

Lilia covered his "sneeze" with one hand. It looked fake. He definitely pronounced the word clearly, and what sneeze makes an "a-tishoo" sound? Epel kept the observation in his head.

Then it hit Malleus. The dragon fae's nose twitched. He turned away from Lilia and Silver and looked at the sky.

" **Hatchoo!** "

.

.

.

"... Sebek-kun did you see what I just saw?"

"... I- yeah. I mean- as expected of Waka-sama! Even his sneeze is out of this world!"

"Sebek-kun he sneezed fire! Green fire! Was coming out of his mouth!"

Sebek looked unimpressed. "Yes his fire is green. It's because he's descended from the-"

"That's not the point! He had to aim his sneeze to the sky because he sneezed fire! He could've set fire to the tablecloth, or even his own hand if he sneezed there!"

The Diasomnia first year smiled like a proud parent. "And he aimed it away from danger wonderfully. What a gentleman."

Epel was still trying to get his head around the other-worldly sneeze when he remembered there's still another victi- person they haven't observed. Epel looked back at the Diasomnia trio.

What he saw afterwards made him decide he's done enough observation.

_~bibbity bobbity boo~_

Epel was standing in front of Vil in the Pomefiore ballroom. They just finished stretching for the dorm's regular dance lessons, the other students scattered around doing their own preparation.

"Okay Epel we have about 10 minutes. What have you learned from your observations?"

Epel was ready with his report.

"I have learned that my sneeze has been very... unbecoming. First, it's a bit too loud. I should control the force of it as best as I can."

"Okay, that's good." 

"Second, I should cover my mouth and nose when I sneeze. If I use my hand, I have to make sure to wash it directly afterwards. It's also best to have a handkerchief ready on you, which I have here." Epel took out a handkerchief from his pocket.

"Ooh~" Rook who was ~~eavesdropping~~ listening from behind Vil let out an impressed sound. Vil nodded and smiled, proud that Epel came so far.

"If there's no handkerchief, sneezing into your elbow pocket is good too. So in conclusion, I should sneeze into my handkerchief and make sure I don't be too loud. Oh, also say "excuse me" after sneezing."

Rook clapped his hands. 

"That was impressive Monsieur Crabapple! You learned a lot from your observations."

"Thank you Rook-san." Epel smiled, but he looked a bit unsure, his eyes darting around.

This didn't escape Vil's sharp eyes. "What is it? Do you have something else to say?"

The first year was startled. "Ah- it's just that... through my observations I've discovered the most amazing sneeze, it was like perfection. But I could never aim to sneeze like that."

"Oh? What is this perfect sneeze and who is the owner of it?" asked Vil.

"The perfect sneeze is," Epel started, recalling the memory, "a soft but strong 'ah-choo', covered neatly with a napkin flown in by white doves, a colony of bunnies surrounding you afterwards, a fox curling up in your lap in attempt to keep you warm, and being blessed by your adoptive father and a dragon fae."

"..."

"..."

"...what."

"It was Silver-san. That was what happened when he sneezed."

Vil blinked a few times. "I see... well, that is a level we can't hope to achieve. You're doing great as you are Epel. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you Vil-san."

Epel left the two seniors and went to join his friends at a different corner.

"I didn't expect him to gain so much from the task. Rook?" 

Vil looked at his vice-leader who was staring into space.

"Rook?"

"..hmm? Oh, sorry, was just thinking about something."

Vil knew that look in his eyes. "Rook do not hunt Silver no matter how interesting his sneeze is."

"But aren't you curious Vil? It sounds like a beautiful scene..."

"No, Malleus will complain to me if you disturb his dormmates," he crossed his arms, "so don't go chasing him."

"Hmm. If you say so Roi du Poison."

Vil only said not to chase him. Doesn't mean he can't observe from afar for a few days. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! Honestly had no idea how to end this so... have a Rook Hunt!
> 
> This was just a silly idea I had in my head and I decided to make it a full-fledged thing and this is how it turned out. I have no idea if it's hilarious or just ridiculous. But anyway, it is done!
> 
> Hope you can imagine everyone's sneeze from the descriptions. If you can't then that's on Epel for being bad at describing them xD
> 
> Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed(?) it.


	5. Let's walk together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malleus and Cater face a busy day in one of the busiest week of their life. Fortunately the reward at the end of the week would be worth all the meticulous preparations.

"This is the proposal for the international trading law, your highness."

"Thank you, put it there please."

The attendant places the documents on the table and bows to Malleus before leaving. Malleus sighs and leans back in his chair. He's been sitting in his work room the whole morning and the paperwork keeps piling up. He went through the new procedures for pixie dust exports and made amendments, he signed agreements for collaborations with the neighbouring countries and there are still many documents to go through.

When he officially took on his Crown Prince duties, he didn't think he'd have to deal with so many official paperwork, but times have changed. During his grandmother's time, the Queen has been the one to take up the leading charge of the enemy, defending their land and strategizing battles. These days, wars are not waged through physical combat. A country can collapse not by an enemy invasion but through economy defeat. Malleus knows everything he's currently doing are all for the good of the country, but there's only so much information a fae can go through in one sitting. 

He glances at his table, analyzing the things he still has to do. There is the castle's new administrative staffs for him to review, the regulations for soul-pact rituals, the new documents he was just given, and-

"Wedding vow."

Malleus feels his heart beating. He's been trying to avoid it, but he has to write them soon. As a matter of fact, he has until the end of the week to write it, before the wedding itself. 

His wedding. With Cater. He is getting married to Cater Diamond. 

That is partly the reason why he has extra work these days. Being the prince is already hectic enough and now he also has a wedding to prepare. They have a wedding planner of course, the expert on royal weddings who organizes the ceremony adhering to the royal traditions. But there are many other decisions that are up to the grooms, and both Cater and Malleus have been involved with the process. 

Cater has been staying at the castle for a few days now, in preparation for the wedding. He has his own room at the moment, since they are not officially married yet and Cater said he won't get anything done if he's staying with Malleus. That still didn't stop Malleus from sneaking into his room on some nights to cuddle. 

One would think that they would spend more time together now that Cater is staying in the castle but Malleus hardly sees him aside from meal times and occasionally when they cross paths while heading to different places. If Malleus was occupied with paperwork, Cater was fully engaged with the wedding preparations. He took it upon himself to plan the theme, decorations and even the food. Aside from all that, he also has to learn all the responsibilities that comes with his new position. Malleus wouldn't be surprised if Cater was busier than him at this point. 

He looks back at the paper in his hand, the draft for his wedding vow. They needed the written vow from him because it needs to undergo proof-reading to make sure he doesn't say anything that could be misinterpreted and reflect badly on the royal family or the country. It's mostly formalities but Malleus finds it hard to write. Every time he tries to write them down he feels constricted with the words and it sounds superficial. He plans on just saying his vows on the spot during the ceremony but he still needs to send the written vow for it to be approved. Maybe he really should just hire a person to write it for him.

There is a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Sebek."

"Come in." Malleus straightens himself up from his previously reclining position. 

The royal guard enters and stands at attention in front of Malleus. "My apologies for disturbing you during this particularly busy time, but the renovations being made at the west wing is facing some issues. Apparently the developers were thinking of a different design than the construction workers, so they need your confirmation on the finalized design."

Right, castle renovations. Another task. "Are both parties currently at the west wing?"

"Yes, they are. You don't need to bother yourself with going, if you can send me a copy of the design-"

Malleus gets up from his seat, cutting Sebek mid-sentence. "It's okay, I need to see the renovation process myself. It's also a good chance for me to escape all this paperwork so please allow me this short trip to go for a walk," said Malleus, smiling at the guard.

Sebek salutes him. "Of course! If that is what you wish then I shall follow it Waka-sama!"

The familiar action brings out a chuckle from the fae. Even after so many years, Sebek's enthusiasm in serving his "young master" will never change. "Then, let's go."

The two of them exit the room and walk past the long hallway. They were walking down the grand staircase in the middle of the castle when a guest entered from the main door, ushered in by the servants. It was a beautiful man, his hair blonde with purple tips. He was wearing sunglasses, a well-fitted white pants and soft blue blouse with puffy sleeves. His whole getup screamed "celebrity!!" and even without it Malleus would recognize the person with the way he carried himself.

"This is a surprise, Vil Schoenheit."

Vil took off his sunglasses, revealing his full beautiful face in all its glory and smiled. "Malleus, it's good to see you."

Being the gentleman that he is, Malleus goes down the stairs and greets his old friend. "What brings you here today?"

"Ah, Vil! You're here." 

The two man turn towards the new voice, seeing Cater coming down the stairs. "Thanks for agreeing to help with the fittings. You're a saviour!"

"And you didn't even tell Malleus that I was coming?" 

Cater let out a sheepish chuckle at that. "We've both been busy with our own things that I must've forgot. Sorry Malleus."

"Don't worry about it."

Malleus looks at his fiancé, the one he's about to marry in a few more days. He had his bangs up like during his NRC days, his longer orange hair in soft curls over his shoulders. Usually he'd let his hair loose but he must've tied it to get it out of his face. Malleus feels himself smiling, recalling the memories of their NRC days.

Cater is also looking at him, Malleus getting lost in those emerald green eyes that he never gets tired of seeing. Whenever Cater is around he is like a breath of fresh air, his bright hair and personality a stark contrast to the muted colours of the castle walls. And just like a moth, Malleus is always drawn back to him. Cater smiles at him, and it's like the sun came out from behind the clouds. 

"The two of you can give each other heart eyes all you want for the rest of your life. I, on the other hand, don't have all day."

Vil interrupts the two lovers staring at each other being in their own world. Only then did Malleus realize they are still in the middle of the entrance hall, the servants by the door pointedly looking away from them with smiles on their faces, Vil standing with a hand on his waist, and Sebek frowning at Vil.

"They haven't spent time with each other these days! Let them stare all they want!"

Malleus feels both embarrassed and touched by Sebek's comment, hiding his grin behind a hand. Cater lets out a laugh and Malleus revels in the sound. 

"No, Vil is right. I should go now," said Cater, moving towards the hallway leading to his room.

"Kei." Without thinking, Malleus grabs his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. Cater turns around.

"Yes?"

"We'll catch up later during lunch?"

Cater beams. "Of course! Just tell me when and I'll be there."

The fae smiles in return and let go of his wrist. Cater waves goodbye and moves towards his room with Vil. Malleus too, heads the opposite way, Sebek following faithfully after him. 

They arrive at the renovation site. Malleus settled the final design of the room they were in and made peace between the developers and construction workers. They start on the construction and Malleus decides to watch the process for a while. Sebek is still there with him as well.

"You don't have any other task today, Sebek?"

"My main task is always to watch over you, this was merely something I encountered while on my way to your work room."

Malleus smiles at the usual overprotective nature of the royal guard. They observe the construction process. After being satisfied with the way things were going, Malleus decides it is time to continue with his work. On his way out of the room, he remembers that there is another door which leads directly to the gardens. He checks the time. 

"Sebek, if I decide to forget my work for a while and walk around the garden instead, you wouldn't tell anyone would you?" Malleus smiles mischievously at the green-haired man. 

Sebek's face lights up. "I won't tell anyone if you allow me to accompany you!"

The fae knew Sebek would not miss the chance to spend time with him. He beckons Sebek to follow him and they walk to the garden. The castle has been described as intimidating, especially during the night. But those who have been in the castle and out to the garden at the back would know how serene the area actually is. Along the back of the castle, there is a path leading to the garden where flowers of various colours and species grow abundantly. There are many fruit trees as well, the castle staffs using the fresh produce in their dishes. The garden is fenced, with a single gate leading to the forest spanning out around the castle. 

Malleus smiles to himself, remembering the time when he as a young child would escape from Lilia's tutoring and climbed the gate to explore the forest. He made friends with the dryads and forest fairies there, the kind creatures entertaining him until he fell asleep. He remembers waking up to Lilia carrying him back to the castle and scolding him for going into the forest without telling him. "Next time, tell me so that I can accompany you and we can play with the kind fairies again."

The prince and the guard stroll around the garden, the gentle breeze carrying the scent of the flowers around them creating a calm atmosphere. Malleus glances at the younger man who had a soft smile on his face, no doubt recalling his own memories of the garden.

When they were children, Sebek and Silver used to play knights here during their free time, Malleus as usual being the prince they were protecting and Lilia ending up as the enemy. Sometimes Silver would appoint Sebek as the prince and Sebek would argue that Silver should be the prince because "I want to protect Silver!"

Speaking of Silver, this garden was also the place where the man confessed his feelings to his long-time friend/rival. It was a starry night, and Malleus really shouldn't be up in the tree but he was. The silver one waited for Sebek to arrive and straightforwardly confessed in his blunt nature. It went as well as it could, the younger of the two yelling in confusion and denial but they end up kissing anyway. Malleus kept the confession a secret, even now. 

The garden is quite a special place to Malleus, and he hopes he'll make some memories with his beloved in this beautiful place too. He notices the gazebo on the other side of the garden and has an idea.

"Sebek, would you mind informing the maids to prepare lunch at the gazebo? And inform Cater too."

"Yes, of course. I shall take my leave then." Sebek leaves the garden and Malleus. 

Malleus continues strolling through the garden, admiring the flowers currently blooming in season. His thoughts wander to Cater, the person occupying his mind most of the time recently. Malleus still has a hard time believing their relationship has made it this far.

They are from different worlds. Malleus is a fae, a prince, and people fear even being in his presence. Cater is a human, a popular singer with devoted fans from all across the land. There were a lot of people who didn't think they would stay together for long, thinking that their differences would tear them apart eventually. But they don't know how Cater's forward thinking and bright outlook in life encourages Malleus to make connections with others and open himself a bit, and how Malleus' confidence and rational mind helps Cater stay grounded and cherish himself more. And most importantly, they love each other and want to stay together. 

It wasn't an easy decision, especially on Cater's side. He has to leave the entertainment industry, knowing that getting married to Malleus would make him part of the royal family. With that position comes the roles and responsibilities he's expected to uphold. Him being a celebrity also meant that the media attention was relentless. He's already done countless interviews after their marriage announcement, some of them alongside Malleus as well.

On Malleus' side, there were definitely objections from the council of Elders, shocked that Malleus is marrying a human, who is not even royalty! But these were not the voice of majority, and Malleus calmly argued for it to which the council conceded in the end. It helped that the Valley of Thorns have been reaching out and opening their doors to other countries. This was a movement championed by Malleus himself, having learnt that creatures of every kind are capable of living together harmoniously and reach greater heights from his experience in NRC. He will admit that Cater played a role in his decision to take action as well. 

Malleus is brought out of his thoughts when he feels arms wrapping around his waist, a warm body pressing to his back.

"What are you thinking about?"

Malleus loosens the arms around him and turns around, facing his fiancé. 

"Just thinking about us," said the fae, cupping Cater's face and leaning down to kiss his lips. 

Cater smiles into the kiss and lets out a soft laugh once Malleus pulls back. "Miss me that much, darling?"

"You have no idea." Malleus kisses his forehead, and then his cheek, and proceeds to pepper his face with kisses, eliciting giggles from the smaller man.

"We should go eat. Helena already served all the food and it'll get cold if you keep kissing me."

Reluctantly, Malleus lets go of Cater's face. The human reaches a hand up and pinches his cheek, a sign that he was pouting involuntarily. 

They walk the short distance to the gazebo together, Cater taking Malleus' hand and interlocking their fingers together. In that brief moment, Malleus felt like he was back in NRC, holding hands with his boyfriend after class. 

They reach the gazebo and see the array of dishes spread out on the table. 

"Oh, she even made the canapes. Have a taste of these Malleus it's the ones we're serving for the wedding," said Cater, taking a seat opposite him.

They start on lunch, Malleus having a taste of the canapes. "It's good," he commented, savouring the small delicacy. 

"Right? Helena is such a great cook, I'm glad she agreed to cook for the wedding. She was even kind enough to give me a taste of all the possible menus she could cook." Cater piles up some potatoes on his plate. 

Malleus pours himself some tea and and pours some for Cater too. "Are you handling the preparations well? You're not pushing yourself?"

Cater gives him a thumbs up, mouth busy chewing. "It's fine. Since the ceremony is all planned out following the traditions, I want to make the decisions on the things I can choose."

The prince listens attentively, cutting a piece of chicken. "How's your retirement coming along?"

Cater sighs. "There were some changes to the song lineup, but luckily they told me early so I have time to practice. One last performance on the music show two days from now, and I officially retire."

Malleus spears a piece of chicken on his fork and holds it up to Cater, the latter happily eating it. "And your lessons?" Malleus is referring to the lessons on fae culture and traditions, and also the role he has to take up once he marries Malleus. 

"It's going pretty well. Oh! Yesterday Bates taught me fairy astronomy. I didn't know we have different interpretations of the same stars and constellations."

The two continue their lunch discussing the differences of fairy and human astronomy. Halfway through dessert, Malleus notices something.

"Cater, are you split right now?"

It took a few years for Malleus to notice it, but he can tell if Cater was using his unique magic by the green intensity of his eyes. Right now it was just slightly dimmer than usual.

Cater grimaced. "Yeah. But it's only one! He's just sitting and looking over the guest list, I promise he's not doing anything strenuous," he reassures Malleus. The man tends to get worried when Cater uses his unique magic as it put a lot of strain on him especially when the clones exert a lot of energy. 

The fae is slightly upset that Cater couldn't even have lunch peacefully. He is also reminded that he has to check his side of the guest list as well, not to mention the wedding vow he still avoided. He lets out a sigh. "I just want to get this wedding over with."

The redhead takes his hand on the table and squeezed it. "Don't be like that, it's supposed to be our special day!"

Malleus gazes at the man in front of him, the man he's about to marry. And just like that, all his irritation disappears. He's about to see that soft smile for the rest of his life, and for that Malleus is willing to do anything. He pulls the man's hand closer and gives it a kiss, seeing the golden ring with a single diamond adorning his finger. 

"I can't wait to call you my husband."

The future husband has the biggest smile on his face, cheeks tinted pink. "You only have to wait a few more days for that."

The say all good things must come to an end, and the lovely moment comes to an end when Silver appears, the guard looking a bit guilty at interrupting their private time.

"I apologize for intruding, but if you're finished with lunch Malleus-sama, then the director of the granite company is here to see you."

Malleus checks the time. He didn't realize it was well over their usual lunch hour. 

"Thank you Silver, tell him I'll be there in a bit."

The guard leaves and Malleus gets up. "I'll be going first. See you later, my Diamond." He approaches the man and gives him peck on his cheek.

"Get going _Your Highness_ , don't keep the person waiting," said Cater, smiling teasingly. 

The fae moves towards the castle after waving goodbye to the man. He takes a deep breath, braving himself for all the workload waiting for him. 

_Five days, just five more days._

* * *

The familiar sound of the phone alarm wakes Cater up from his slumber. For a second, he has a thought in the back of his mind that he needs to prepare for something today. And then he remembers as his mind starts clearing up and he becomes fully awake.

Today is the wedding day.

He rolls over and stares at the the ceiling. The week passed by like a blur and suddenly he's here in this moment. It sort of feels surreal. All the preparations have been for this day. Still slightly in a daze, Cater gets up and heads to the toilet, wasting no time in getting ready. 

After he's done freshening himself, he puts on a robe and exits the toilet. He's met with Ereve, one of the castle attendants, bringing out his suit and hanging it. 

"It's finally the day Diamond-sama."

"Ereve~ I told you to just call me Cater, you've been taking good care of me this past week." Ereve was assigned as Cater's personal attendant during his stay in the castle, and Cater became good friends with him. The young man welcomed Cater warmly and didn't mind listening to Cater rant about things. 

"If you say so Cater-san. Here is your suit, the shoes are in the box, and all the accessories are on the table."

Cater looks at the all-white attire. It consisted of a tailored jacket, a white turtleneck, matching pants and a light cape with gold designs. He picked it out alongside Vil, in order to match Malleus' dark green ones. Seeing it now, it's really starting to dawn on him that he's getting married in a few hours.

There is a knock on the door. Ereve checks on it and opens the door seeing who it was. Malleus enters the room, wearing an identical robe to Cater.

The faes don't have any superstitions on a couple seeing each other before a wedding, and neither does Cater, so the visit is not met with any objections. Cater was slightly surprised though, not expecting Malleus to drop by. Ereve quietly excused himself and leaves the two of them in the room.

"Checking up on me to make sure I don't run?" Cater jokes. 

Malleus crosses the room to stand in front of Cater. He takes Cater's hands in his own.

"To check whether this is really happening."

Cater lets go of his hands and wraps his arms around the fae's neck, embracing him. He feels the other pull him closer by his waist.

The human closes his eyes, savouring the moment. "It seems unreal to me too, but this is really happening Malleus. We're getting married today." Finally saying it out loud, Cater feels his heart beating fast. He hopes Malleus doesn't hear it but the man is probably feeling the same anyway. They let go of each other, matching grins on their faces. 

For the second time that morning, there is a knock on the door. The person on the other side calls out. "Cater, it's Vil."

"I'll let you get ready. See you later, love."

"Yeah."

Malleus opens the door and leaves, patting Vil on the shoulder along his way. 

Vil enters and smirks at Cater. "Good to see he still has that lovesick smile on his face after seeing you."

"We're about to get married Vil, we're allowed to be lovesick fools for today," said Cater.

The two friends share a laugh. Vil puts down his bag, presumably packed with makeup items, on one of the tables. Cater was surprised when the model offered to do his hair and makeup for the wedding. He originally planned to go for his usual stylist, but Vil insisted. 

Cater sits down on the chair in front of the vanity desk. "Thanks again for doing this Vil."

"You're welcome. Your stylist always made you look too flirty anyway. They don't fully showcase your beauty to its full potential." Vil starts taking out all the makeup items from the bag. 

"So, I can count on supermodel Vil Schoenheit to make me look the most beautiful that I've ever been?" Cater teased.

"Of course," came the smug reply. The confident model turned stylist for the day starts applying foundation on Cater's face. Relaxing himself and letting Vil work, Cater lets his mind go through the planned events.

After he's all dressed up, he'll meet up with Malleus outside the wedding hall, and walk in together. It's tradition in the Valley of Thorns that the wedded couple walk together down the aisle as a symbol that they'll walk through life together. At the altar, they will say their vows and the ancient Moor fairy will officiate and bless the marriage. And then they kiss, the usual tradition. Sounds simple enough. Cater already has his vows memorized, and he's had enough practice kissing Malleus. Still, it will be the first time he'll kiss Malleus in front of the whole nation. There will be livestreams all over the land, creatures of every kind looking forward to watching the royal wedding. 

Speaking of livestreams, Cater switches on the television in the room, broadcasting the live feed of the wedding hall. It is empty now, just a few servants doing a final checkup on everything. Cater feels content looking at the beautiful hall, knowing his efforts paid off and seeing his vision come to life. 

"Okay, we're done."

"Eh, already?" Cater is surprised at how fast Vil worked. He checks the time on his phone. Almost an hour has passed?!

Vil packs his things into his bag. "Time flies quickly when you're zoning out Cater. Come on, let's get you dressed up."

Cater gets up from the seat and puts on the turtleneck first. With Vil's assistance they manage to put on the whole attire smoothly. The trousers, jacket and lastly the cape. Just as Vil was smoothing out the long fabric, the door opens.

"Hi, is this the groom's room?"

"Trey!" Cater runs and hugs his long time best friend.

Trey returns the hug. "Look at you all dressed up already. Oh, and Vil's here too. Hey."

Vil raises an elegant eyebrow. "What is with that half-hearted greeting?" Trey merely laughs. 

Cater feels his nerves calm down. He didn't even notice he was tense but with Trey's arrival he feels like he can breathe more deeply. The bespectacled man is wearing a white suit jacket with black trousers, a fitting attire as Cater's best man. 

Vil takes his bag. "Well, now that you're here, I'll leave him to you. There's only the accessories left, and I trust Cater's style for those so I'll leave now." Vil is also a guest so he can't stay with Cater until the ceremony since he has to take his place in the hall. 

"Thank you so much Vil!" the groom gives the model a hug before letting him leave.

Now they only need to put on some accessories. Trey looks over Cater again. "You look really beautiful Cater."

Only now realizing he hasn't looked at a mirror, Cater goes to stand in front of the floor-length mirror in the room. What greeted his sight surprised him. 

His bangs were swept to the left, partly exposing his forehead. The rest of his hair is loose, his usual wavy hair now styled with slightly prominent curls, cascading over his shoulders. His makeup was on point too, the eyeshadow Vil picked out was subtle and brought out the bright shine in his leaf green eyes. His lips look soft, a subtle hint of pink that is not too overpowering.

And his attire. The jacket fit over him perfectly, the cutting at the waist making him look slim. Cater wasn't too confident about the cape, but it flows beautifully over the back, giving him a regal look. 

Overall, he's stunning. And Cater can shamelessly admit that, because he really does look beautiful. And he isn't even completely done yet. 

He moves to the table where the accessories were laid out. He picks out a pair of silver earrings with emerald and puts them on. He also picks out a matching silver bracelet, opting for a thin one as it's mostly concealed under his sleeves. He was contemplating on the necklaces, an important piece that would stand out against the white turtleneck, when he gets a knock at the door.

"Come in," said Cater, thinking it's one of the servants checking up on him. 

The door opens and to both Cater and Trey's surprise, it was Malleus' mother.

The Queen of Valley of Thorns.

"Your majesty!" Cater and Trey both moved to bow when the Queen waves her hands around.

"Please, no need to be formal. Also Cater, I told you to call me mother." 

The redhead chuckled sheepishly. "Give me some time to get used to it..."

Cater has only met the woman twice, both times with Malleus. He was surprised to meet the woman the first time, imagining an intimidating figure similar to Malleus but the Queen was quite the opposite. She does have a commanding aura with her tall stature, but her kind eyes and warm smile makes her more approachable. The times that they've met, she has been nothing short of kind to him, asking him about his celebrity life and sharing stories about Malleus when he was young. She approved of their relationship readily over that one dinner date. 

Now the woman is scanning him up and down. "Very handsome. I think you'll even outshine Malleus later."

Cater laughs at that. "I doubt I'll outshine the Crown Prince himself in his royal attire. But thank you."

"You'll look beautiful together, don't worry about that. Here, I came to give you this." The fae queen materializes a chain with her hand. Upon closer inspection, Cater sees that it was a necklace. 

"It's a diamond necklace, to commemorate your name. And the green gem in the middle is Diopside, mostly used as protection against ill-intentions. My mother designed it for you, as compensation for not being able to attend the wedding."

To say that Cater was overwhelmed would be an understatement. He was glad to be accepted into the family by the Queen, but for Malleus' grandmother, the legendary Thorn Witch herself to go out of her way and gifting this necklace, he really feels like the luckiest man in the world. The Queen puts the necklace around his neck, Cater doing his best to hold back his tears. 

"There we go. Perfect."

The necklace sits nicely over the white turtleneck, the gem shining on his chest, matching his earrings. 

"Thank you. Thank you so much," said Cater, his voice cracking at the end.

The Queen pats his cheeks. "Oh no no don't cry now, you'll ruin the makeup dear," she laughs. "Best man, come comfort him. I'll be taking my leave now."

"Yes Your Majesty."

She leaves the two of them in the room. Trey grins at his best friend who is close to tears. "I'm so glad for you Cater."

"Trey you're supposed to make me feel better, not make me want to cry even more!"

Having Trey here makes Cater even more emotional. He remembers when they were confused teenagers, spending late nights worrying about their future. Trey has always been there for him, from NRC and even after they graduated and went along their separate paths. During the times when Cater had insecurities about his relationship with Malleus, when he thought leaving Malleus would be the best for the both of them, Trey was the one who travelled all the way to Pyroxene, sat down with him and listened to him cry his heart out. He made coffee and talked some sense into Cater, asking him if he can live the rest of his life without regrets if he breaks it off with Malleus. 

Cater didn't hesitate to answer no. He will never stop thinking about Malleus, even if they broke up. 

So he didn't. He took Trey's advice, and talked it out with Malleus. And they made it work. Through many heart-to-heart sessions, tears, self-acceptance, cuddles and ice-cream, they made it work. Because from the bottom of both their hearts, they want to be with each other. 

And now they are about to take the next step together. 

"I don't see why you can't cry, I'm sure Vil's makeup is water-proof," said Trey, handing Cater a tissue. 

"That's not the issue, I'm gonna get puffy eyes and red nose if I cry. But no worries, I think I'm good now." Cater fans the tissue over his eyes to dry it, a trick he learned from his stylist.

After calming down, Cater sits down on the bed and puts on his socks. It's nearly time, the guests already entering the hall, so he puts on the shoes. For the final touch, he takes the white cala lilies boutonnieres freshly prepared for the day and puts it in his pocket. And he is done. 

He was about to take his phone when Trey's hand snatches the phone away.

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure you don't leak your appearance before the actual ceremony."

That was what Cater and Malleus have agreed on. To not reveal anything about their appearance until the ceremony itself, just to make it a surprise for everyone. Of course Malleus and Cater already saw each other's suit, for coordination purposes.

"You know I won't. I just need something to fiddle with while waiting."

Just as Trey was about to retort, there is a knock on the door. Ereve peeks his head into the room. "Cater-san, it's time."

"Well, no need to wait now," said Trey.

Cater takes a deep breath. He is a bit nervous, but more than that, he's excited. It sort of feels like pre-show jitters, except this time instead of going on stage alone he will have Malleus by his side. 

"Okay, let's do this."

The two of them walk out the room and into the hallways. They go down the stairs and head towards the hall. Turning the corner, Cater sees him, and time seems to slow down.

Malleus is there, looking regal in his dark green suit, the long cape elegantly flowing behind him. The gold crown nestled perfectly on his head, his long hair in a side braid, the black tresses cascading over his shoulder. He notices Cater and turns to look at him, his green eyes widening. Cater could see that he has eyeshadow on his eyes, sparkling lightly. 

"Cater you- you're so beautiful."

Cater feels his cheeks heat up. "Malleus that's my line. You're so gorgeous."

They look at each other for a minute, just taking in the breath-taking view. Their eyes meet. Cater has the strongest urge to kiss him at the moment. 

"Ahem."

The couple is brought out of their daze. Lilia is standing in front of the door of the hall, a cheeky grin on his face. 

"Ah young love, what a beautiful sight. Don't you agree Trey?"

Trey laughs. "I don't think any of us are that young anymore, but whatever you say Lilia."

Malleus puts a hand on his hip. "We're all young in his old man's eyes. Are you going to cry later Lilia?"

"Of course not! It's such a happy day, why would I cry?"

"That's what you said during Silver and Sebek's wedding, and guess who's eyes were red in the pictures?"

Cater remembers the wedding. It was a fairly simple one, definitely not as elaborate as theirs right now, but it was very sweet. He remembers watching the happy couple and thinking that he wants to experience that kind of love himself someday. 

And today is that day. He stares at Malleus and can't help smiling, tuning out whatever conversation he was having with Lilia. Malleus notices his staring and smiles in return. Cater really wants to kiss him right now.

"Just kiss now before we go in, to take the tension off. Trey and I will look the other way," Lilia snickered.

Trey agrees with Lilia. "Yeah, don't worry about us, just do what you need to do."

Given the permission, Malleus leans down, holds Cater's face delicately and closed the gap between them. Cater closes his eyes and returns the kiss, putting his hand on Malleus' chest. He can feel the fae's heart beating. 

They pull back after feeling satisfied, Cater's hand still on the other's chest. He gazes into the emerald eyes, remembering memories of joy linked with it. 

"I love you," he says, voice barely a whisper.

"I love you too," Malleus gives another peck on his lips, "Shall we announce it to the whole world now?"

Malleus offers his arm. With it, he offers a lifetime of companionship, a shoulder to cry on, hands to hold and to pull him out of any darkness, arms to keep him warm and most importantly, love, love and love.

Cater links his arm with Malleus. He promises to share happiness, grief, and love, through sickness and health until death do them apart. 

"Yes. Let's do it."

He doesn't know what the future will hold. But with Malleus by his side, he's sure it will be alright.

After nodding to Lilia and Trey, the couple take a breath, and hold their heads up.

_The door to the hall opens._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long end note incoming.
> 
> Congratulations for making it to the end! Did you enjoy it? I hope you did. Honestly, I planned on writing Malcate for this chapter, and my only criteria was "THEY ARE HAPPY" and my brain just went "wedding. marriage. you gotta" so thanks for that brain. Do you know how hard it was to write this aslkhdsf there's so many parts where I just glossed over so sigh I hope it wasn't too bad. I still persevered with the wedding idea because of the recent HALLOWEEN WEDDING BANNER xD
> 
> TMI, I suck at giving names. Name-wise Helena the cook is from MCR Helena, Bates the instructor is from Downton Abbey and Ereve is from Maplestory. Also the Queen. God, the Queen. I actually imagine her to be twisted from Aurora, hence the warm interaction. 
> 
> Special shoutout to my moots on twitter. Vil and Cater interaction is for Kue, Trey being best man is for Chiku, and Silsebe wedding is for Puff, hope you all like it! And of course, this whole Malcate is for ME!! And for all the Malcate shippers who are always crying because ANGST. Let's not talk about Cater's Halloween SSR personal story. This is a fluff area only!
> 
> Moving forward with this work, I think I will post more general or character centric works here. If it's a ship fic and it's more than 2k words long, I think I will post it as a standalone work. I wish to write more things but perhaps at a shorter length so those will be posted under this work I guess. Just to give a heads up.
> 
> Yeah so tldr, thank you for reading, I know it's not that good but I did my best for the ship. They're husbands now uwu


	6. Idiazul kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bunch of short pieces for a kiss prompt list. Vague settings, interpret them however you like.

**Hand kiss**

"Please please please please please please."

"Idia-san relax. I'm going to press it now." Azul is amused. He personally dislikes games that rely on luck, but it's entertaining to watch Idia being this desperate.

Idia covers his face with his hands and turns around. "I can't watch this. This is my final pull. You tell me if she comes home, okay?"

"The purple-haired one right? Okay pressing it now."

The screen glows. The stars line up. A twinkling sound is heard.

_"Did you call for me Master? Azu-nyan is here~!!"_

"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

Idia crashes to Azul's side and looks at the phone disbelievingly. The innocent purple-haired SSR witch smiling innocently on the screen.

"Congratulatio-"

"AZUL I LOVE YOU AND YOUR GOLDEN HAND"

Before Azul could even respond, Idia takes his hand and kisses it once. And twice. And many many times.

Getting flustered, Azul pushes him away with his other hand. "It's merely luck Idia-san."

The flaming-haired gamer goes back to the game, smiling goofily at the phone. "Yes it's luck. And Azul-shi is my lucky charm."

Azul sighs in exasperation, face tinted pink.

**Cheek kiss**

"Azul-shi are you still angry?"

There was no response from the other person in the room. Azul had his arms crossed and he was pointedly facing away from Idia, sitting cross-legged on the bed. 

"Come on, stop ignoring me anymore~" Idia went behind Azul and wrapped his arms around his middle. He propped his head up on the other's shoulder, faces close together. Azul turned his head the other way, still refusing to say anything. Idia observed his boyfriend's side view. He was pouting, cheeks puffed out. Wanting to console him and also not being able to resist his cuteness, Idia leaned in and pecked his cheek. 

Which resulted in Azul squirming and pushing him away. Idia didn't let him go of course, merely wrapping his arms more securely around the smaller man. 

"Let me go you liar! You promised to spend time with me last night and yet you continued grinding to the point I fell asleep. And you didn't even wake me up!"

Idia groaned. "I already apologized! Besides, you were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't have the heart to wake you up."

Azul stopped struggling. He huffed and continued pouting. Idia gave the plump cheek another kiss.

"I'm sorry. We can spend the whole day together today."

"...don't you have that event you need to grind?"

"What, and ignore my cute boyfriend? I would never," Idia giggled. 

Azul playfully slapped his arm. "Promise? No takebacks?"

"Promise. Today my attention is all for you, Azul-shi."

Azul hates how easily he gives in to his boyfriend. 

**Forehead kiss**

It was cold. The snow was falling around them and the ground was blanketed with the white substance. Azul and Idia were walking back from their movie and dinner date. Azul already said he was able to go back to his apartment by himself but Idia insisted on walking him home. 

"Just let me be a caring boyfriend for once," he said.

And so they walked along the streets, only a few people around due to the cold weather and late hour. Azul noticed his boyfriend shivering, hands stuffed in his padded jacket. The man really couldn't stand the cold, dressed up in a jacket, a sweater underneath, scarf, gloves and even the hoodie pulled up over his head. Compared to the walking burrito that was his boyfriend, Azul was lightly dressed in a sweater and scarf, and those were only to blend in with everyone else. He didn't really need them. 

He linked his arm with Idia, huddling close to him in effort to offer some warmth. 

"Hang in there Idia-san, we're almost there."

"Hmm."

After a bit more walking, they arrived at Azul's apartment block. Azul reluctantly detached himself from Idia's side.

"Thank you for accompanying me back, my caring boyfriend," Azul smiled, taking Idia's gloved hands in his own.

"Thank you for the wonderful date, my cold-blooded boyfriend," Idia replied back, a teasing grin on his face.

Azul rolled his eyes. "I did suggest staying indoors but you were the one who insisted on watching that movie today."

The blue-haired man merely averted his eyes, a small smile on his face.

"Mm. It was a good movie. I'm glad I watched it with you, even if I'm freezing right now."

Azul wasn't sure if the flush on his boyfriend's face was due to the cold but it was a lovely sight. Idia let go of Azul's hands and pulled him closer by his shoulders, brushing his bangs away and leaned down. Azul feltl his warm breath over his forehead, waited for the kiss and-

"Ack!"

"W-what's wrong?" Idia worriedly asked him.

"Idia-san your lips are ice cold! No way I'm letting you go back like this. Come inside and I'll make some hot drinks."

Idia ended up spending the night at the apartment, sharing Azul's hot drink and warm bed.

**Mouth kiss**

Idia grinned. Just a few more kills. He rapidly tapped the buttons on his controller to make a combo and KO'd the enemy on screen. Azul let out a curse from beside him, followed by rapid button tapping as well. Idia grinned wider.

"Ready to get your ass beat Azul-shi?"

The octopus clicked his tongue. "Shut up, it's not over yet."

The Ignihyde dorm leader idly continued defeating the enemies on screen. There was only 30 seconds left, and he outnumbered Azul's kill count by 15 kills. He knew the outcome already.

**  
-GAME OVER-  
  
**

As predicted, Idia won the battle. He turned to the loser and rub the victory in his face.

"I won again Azul-shi. I expect to see the spoils of my victory tomorrow. Gummies would be highly appreciated." That was the deal they made, the loser would have to buy snacks for the winner.

Azul was fuming. He slammed the controller down. 

"This is unfair! Your character was way too powerful, I never stood a chance!"

Idia leaned in closer to his boyfriend and smirked. "What's this, is Azul-shi being a sore loser? You were the one who said you could beat me in any game I choose."

"Yes, but this game depended on the individual character. You've trained yours, and you have a strong weapon too." Azul jabbed a finger at Idia's chest.

Idia looked at the small angry man invading his personal space. His eyebrows were scrunched and Idia could see the fire burning in his blue eyes.

He scoffed. "Oooh you wanna kiss me so bad~"

Suddenly Idia was pulled forward by the collar and his lips crashed into Azul's. He tried to pull back but Azul had a firm grip on him and pressed his lips fiercely on Idia's.

Azul pulled back after he was done terrorizing his boyfriend's lips. Idia's heart was racing and he felt his face burning up. He's pretty sure his hair turned red too.

"W-why did you do that?!"

Azul looked smug, despite the slight blush on his face. "I just wanted to kiss you. So. Bad."

Idia groaned and buried his face in a nearby pillow.

He wasn't too sure if he was actually the winner this time.

**Forced/Awkward kiss**

"How much longer do we have to be here..."

Azul chuckled at Idia's complaint. They were at a baseball match, Azul forcing his boyfriend to follow him because he had two tickets. Honestly speaking, Azul wasn't that interested in baseball, but because Floyd was in the team he came to show his support. The fickle eel would probably change interest in a few more weeks so Azul will indulge his baseball spirit for now. 

"I think there's about 45 more minutes to the game."

"Ughh..." 

Idia, naturally, was unsettled being in a crowd. There weren't too many people at their part of the stands, but the overall atmosphere was very loud. And Idia was getting restless, pulling his hoodie over his head.

The whistle blew and the game went into break. Azul caught sight of Floyd, his towering height and bright hair standing out. The baseball player noticed Azul and gave an energetic wave at his direction. Azul waved back.

Floyd gestured to his left and pointed at Azul. Getting the message, he looked to his left and tapped at Idia who was staring into space. 

"Look, there's Floyd."

Idia turned to look at Floyd where he was jumping and waving his arms wildly. 

"Pfft what is he doing?" the man laughed. He merely waved back, happy that Floyd appreciated his attendance.

Suddenly, Azul could feel people's attention on them. He thought it was because of Floyd, and then he caught sight of the big LED screen.

Oh no.

Oh Benevolent Witch of the Sea no.

There on the big screen, he and Idia were surrounded by hearts, the words "KISS CAM" in bold letters on top.

"Oh shit."

Idia have noticed as well. The crowd started cheering and whistling. 

Azul made sure his face was neutral, but inside he was panicking. He turned to look at Idia. The man was also looking at him, his expression the very epitome of anxiousness. 

"Umm, Idia-san, I guess we should kiss."

"N-no!! I mean, I don't mind kissing you but not in front of everyone in this stadium!"

Idia was gripping the bottom of his hoodie, his eyes darting everywhere. He looked about ready to bolt. Azul had to think fast, if Idia ran then it's going to look bad for him. Imagine onlookers thinking Idia didn't want to kiss him so bad that he up and left. He can't have that!

"Idia-san, I apologize in advance for what I'm about to do."

"Huh what-"

Azul pulled Idia by his hood and kissed him, making sure the hood is covering Idia's face and his partially. 

He could hear the cheers and whistles of everyone but there was nothing to cheer about in Azul's opinion. He kept his lips pressed to Idia, but his boyfriend was frozen in shock and his lips were pulled in, so it barely felt like a kiss. 

Sneaking a glance at the screen from the corner of his eyes, Azul let go of Idia after seeing that it was displaying an ad about some apple soda drink.

Azul glanced at Idia. The man looked lost and pulled his hood to cover his face even more. Azul felt bad.

"I'm sorry, but it was faster to give in than to prolong it and make it even more awkward." He took his boyfriend's hand.

Idia gripped his hand. "It's okay. It could've been worse." 

The bespectacled man noticed Idia was shaking one of his legs, a nervous tick that sometimes happen. He stood up, dragging Idia with him. 

"Azul-shi? The match is not over?"

"No, we're going home now."

Azul held on to Idia's hand and the two of them walked out the stadium. Idia was quiet the whole time, head downcast. They got to the car and Azul went to the driver's seat, knowing Idia is too out of it to drive them back.

The drive back was silent. 

"Azul-shi."

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry. Because of me, you couldn't watch the match until the end."

They stopped at a red light. Azul turned to look at Idia incredulously. 

"Why are you apologizing? You were put into an uncomfortable situation, and it's partly my fault. I don't care about anything else aside from making sure you feel okay."

Idia leaned against the door. "If I was cooler I would be able to kiss you in front of everyone confidently."

Azul let out a sigh. "Idia-san, look at me."

The man ignored Azul. Azul reached over and held Idia by the shoulders so that they were face-to-face. 

"I'm glad you are not cool because I would not have been able to handle being kissed in front of everyone. Why did you think I pulled your hood over our faces?"

Idia casted his eyes downward, a small hint of a pout on his face. It means he didn't have anything to retort to that.

Azul grinned. "I like my cute, shy boyfriend the way he is."

"Bleurgh, cheesy, too cheesy Azul." Idia made some gagging noise to accompany the statement. 

"I think the reply to that should've been 'I like my smart, handsome boyfriend the way he is too,' Idia-san."

The couple stared at each other before laughing. 

_***HONK*** _

Forgetting that they were at a traffic light, Azul was startled by the honk and scrambled to drive. Successfully moving along with the traffic, the couple let out a few giggles.

"Let's watch anime when we get home?" Idia suggested.

"I'll watch if it's Moriarty the Patriot."

"Deal."

**Reunion kiss**

It was another tiring day for Azul. The lounge had more customers than usual today, most probably due to the beginning of the holiday season. Floyd decided to oh-so-helpfully disappear today of all days to bother Riddle, so they were short of workers too. 

Now that he's back in his house, all Azul wanted to do is to sink into his bed, but he has a night routine to stick to. Shower, dinner, final checkup for tomorrow's tasks, skincare, then sleep. 

After showering, he decided to heat up some leftovers instead of cooking since he was too tired. 'Ah, maybe I should text Idia-san and see how he's holding up.'

Idia has been on a work trip for two weeks now. Two days ago he told Azul he wouldn't be back for another week, since they were so busy. Azul didn't say it then, but he misses Idia. 

After he was done with dinner and finished washing the dishes, he texted Idia.

**  
To: Idia-san ❤**

_How was your day today? Floyd ditched us so I had a long day at work. I miss you._

  
Not wanting to have second thoughts about whether it was too sappy, Azul clicked send. Satisfied, he made preparations for tomorrow, and proceeded to wash his face before heading to bed. 

Now comfortably settled in bed, he checked his phone to see if Idia replied. But there was nothing. Only a message from Floyd with a picture of him and Riddle smiling at the camera, probably after their date earlier today. Azul frowned. 'How dare he enjoy a date with his boyfriend while mine is away for god knows how long.'

Just as he was about to send a long voice note scolding Floyd, the doorbell rang.

**_ding~ dong~_ **

At first Azul was worried, who could possibly be at his doorsteps at this time of the night? Then he remembered that sometimes the neighborhood security patrol would drop a parcel and ring the doorbell. It was a slightly odd practice, but Azul learned to live with it.

_**ding~ dong~ ding ding dong~** _

The doorbell kept ringing. That made him annoyed. Groaning, he put on his spectacles and got out of his warm cocoon of blankets. Ready to scold whoever it was outside his door, he opened the door without checking the the peephole.

"What do you want-" Azul stopped mid-sentence and gasped.

Standing in front of him was Idia, a hand on the back of his neck and a sheepish smile on his face.

"Surprise~? Ehehe." 

"Idia-san!" Azul threw himself at his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around the other's neck. He hugged the man tight. "I thought you won't be back until next week?"

Azul let go of Idia to take a look at his face. The man was smiling softly, yellow eyes gazing into Azul's blue ones.

"I managed to finish the things we had to do. Wanted to come back as soon as I can. I missed you too."

It was chilly outside, especially since Azul only had thin pajamas on, but his face grew warm. He put a hand on Idia's cheek, and leaned up. Idia leaned down to meet his lips halfway. The kiss was short, but Idia continued peppering kisses on Azul's face. 

Azul giggled. "Idia-san, I know we miss each other a lot, but maybe we should bring this inside?" 

"Yes, we should."

The two of them entered the house and Azul closed and locked the door. He turned to Idia.

"Welcome home Idia-san."

Idia brushed his bangs away and pecked his forehead.

"I'm home Azul-shi."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading until the end. I have to admit, I was not getting a lot of Idiazul juices from my brain but I did my best to still produce some, so hope these are alright. You can see how it starts short and then as it goes on the drabbles get longer xD
> 
> ALSO, THANK YOU FOR 100+ KUDOS!! I never thought this work would get this much attention so I appreciate it a lot! Love yalls <3
> 
> If anyone is interested, follow me on twitter @twisteased, I throw up some ship brainrots which can be entertaining sometimes.


	7. Caters' Weekly Roundup!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's better than Cater Diamond? Five Cater Diamonds!  
> All the Caters meet up for their weekly discussion on Magicame, school work and budding relationships.
> 
> [implied Malleus/Cater, Trey/Jade and Floyd/Riddle]

It was Friday, and Cater just came back to his room after having dinner. He took off his uniform and untied his hair, getting ready for a shower.

After showering, he flops on his bed and checks his phone. Once he was done scrolling through the messages and replying to the important ones, he sits up and hugs his smiley pillow. He reaches out for his magic pen. 

"Split Card!" 

With a wave of his magic pen, four other Caters appear in the room. 

"Yoohoo~"

"Heyya everybody!"

All the Caters make themselves comfortable. One sat on the floor, one on the table, one took the chair and one cuddled the Cater on the bed. 

"Now that everyone's here, let's begin our weekly Cater roundup~!"

Various cheers ring out in the room. The Cater on the floor shushes them.

"How many times do I have to say this guys, keep your voices down. It's already night and the other dorm members are probably sleeping."

The Cater on the table rolls his eyes. "Katie, relax. It's Friday night, a lot of people are still awake and having fun."

Katie pouts but stays silent.

Cater on the bed claps his hands twice. "Thank you for your considerate thoughts as always, Katie. Now, why don't we start with reports from Catherine?" 

Catherine on the table crosses his legs and takes out his phone. "This week has been productive as always. There is an increase in our follower count after our picture of the sunset during our flying lesson." He scrolls through the phone, reviewing their Magicame posts that week.

The cuddling Cater lets out a whistle. "That was such a fun time~ we should take more pics when we go flying."

Katie lets out a huff. "And risk Vargas-sensei confiscating our phone? I don't think so."

The Cater on the chair nods. "Katie has a point. Besides, it's hard to concentrate on taking a good picture when you have to focus on balancing too."

"Thank you Cate." Katie gives him a high-five. "At least some of us have common sense, unlike you Cator."

Cator sticks his tongue out at Katie. Cater pats Cator's head. "Now now, let's not fight."

"Oh also guys," Catherine speaks up. "Remember the weird account that DM-ed us? Blocked and reported."

All the Caters clap their hands. 

"About time."

"You go Catherine."

"Power move Queen."

Catherine shrugs, his face smug. "And with that I end my report." 

"Ooh I wanna go next~!" Cator let go of Cater and stands up. 

"We have a date with Malleus on Sunday."

The statement caused a chorus of yelling of various pitches. It was obvious to say that everyone panicked.

"What outfit should we wear? Where is he even taking us?" That was Catherine.

"How long is the date going to be? We better finish our assignments before Sunday." That was Cate.

"Guys, it's not a date." That was Cater.

"Yeah, what if he actually hates us? What if he's only doing this out of pity?" That was Katie. 

"Alright everyone calm down!" Cator called for order. "We are going to the town with Malleus this Sunday, and that is all. No need to worry so much, we're gonna have fun~"

Catherine scrolls through the phone. "I'll have to read up on the popular cafes in town. We are going take so many pictures and whether he likes it or not, Malleus will be in it too. At least one picture would suffice."

Katie frowns. "I don't think that's a good idea. He didn't let us take a picture so easily during PE last time. Besides, he's a Prince, why would he allow a mere peasant like us to take a picture with him..." He hugs his legs close to him and hides his face in his knees. 

"Aww Katie don't be so dejected!" Cator approaches the boy on the floor and gives him a hug. "It'll be fine. He's the one who asked us out, so that means he likes our company at the very least!"

Katie lifts his head, eyebrows still scrunched together. "... if you say so."

"Don't forget," Cate lifts up their planner. "We have two essays due on Monday, one on Magic History and one on Magic Theory. I think Trey covered this theory in a previous assignment so we should borrow his notes tomorrow. Also, there is another Unbirthday Party on Wednesday and we're on flamingo duties. Catherine, put in a reminder to drop by the flamingos on Sunday before we go out."

Catherine taps away on the phone. "Done~" 

"Reliable as always Cate! What would we do without you." Cater laughs at the boy writing down and crossing out checklists on the planner. 

Katie on the floor yawns, getting comfortable with Cator snuggling with him. "We should sleep soon."

"Eh~? But the night is still young, let's chat some more!" Cater whines. 

"Oh I remember something!" Cator exclaims. "Earlier today, I saw Jade returning from Heartslabyul. What do you think he was doing in our dorm~?"

"He was enjoying some quality time with Mr. Rose Chevalier of course~" Catherine sing-songs and shows a picture on his phone to the rest. 

The picture was from Trey's Magicame, a picture of a slice of cake and a "mysterious" person on the other side of the table, their hand cutting the cake with a fork. It could be anyone, but the lavender ribbon on the person's arm made it obvious it was an Octavinelle student. The caption read "Forced to make cake for this one. At least he finished all of it."

The Caters let out impressed oohs. 

"Jade really likes Trey huh?" Katie props his head on his hand. 

Cate hums. "I'm honestly surprised. He didn't seem like he was capable of genuinely liking someone." 

"It's reciprocated too. Have you seen Trey's face whenever Jade's around? Haaa~ man is smitten." Cator grins.

Catherine giggles. "You know who else makes that smitten face? Riddle."

This got Katie upright. "What?? Since when, how, why?"

Catherine waves his hand dismissively. "It's not as obvious, but Riddle likes it when Floyd drops by too."

"I agree. He might get angry at first but afterwards he would have this small innocent smile on his face. It's cute." Cator laughs.

"I can't believe two of our friends are into the eel twins," said Cate. 

"Hey, we can't judge. After all, we have a crush on Malleus Draconia."

A chorus of laughter rings out in the room. 

Cater flops backwards on the bed. "Okay guys, I'm getting tired now."

Cator gets up from the floor. "Then I officially end our weekly roundup! Good job everyone~"

"Finally, time to sleep. I'm still sleeping on the inner side, right?" Katie asked.

Cater's bed was big enough to fit all five of them. Cater would be in the middle, and the rest of them would sleep around him. There wasn't any set positions, but Cater likes cuddling Katie compared to the others. He's a good cuddler. 

"Katie can sleep beside me. I don't mind whoever else wants to sleep on my other side." Cater declares.

"I want to sleep next to Cater!" Cator climbs up the bed and makes himself comfortable on Cater's right.

The rest of them also get on the bed, Katie on Cater's left, Cate behind him and Catherine behind Cator. After some shuffling and wriggling, all five Caters are comfortably snuggled under the covers. 

"Goodnight guys."

"Night."

"Sleep tight."

"Happy dreams."

"Love yall."

Cater falls asleep surrounded by the warmth of his magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at all them Caters! This is honestly self-indulgent because I had the thought that talking to yourself would be so much better if you actually HAD another physical you to talk to. So why not another four physical you? So this happened xD
> 
> I sort of had a set trait to each of the Caters, which are:
> 
> Cater - just the original him  
> Catherine - magicame-focused  
> Katie - worrywart, thinks the negatives first  
> Cate - responsible, reliable  
> Cator - party people! let's have fun!
> 
> Sorry if you find the "girl" names weird because I just wanted to give them cute nicknames that are close to Cater and it fit their traits too so yeah. I hope it wasn't too confusing, figuring out which Cater is speaking. But not that it really mattered because they're all Cater anyway LOL


	8. Beautiful like diamonds

Malleus was walking along the school courtyard, admiring the apple trees that were full of the ripe, red fruits. He was on his way to the west wing of the main building, having heard from Silver that there was an interesting gargoyle on one of the pillars there. He's not sure whether the boy actually identified a grotesque instead of a gargoyle, but he is willing to take that chance. 

As he was walking, he noticed a person under one of the trees peeking over the other side towards the hallways. Identifying the person by their orange hair and cuffed pants, he approaches the unsuspecting student. He stands behind the Heartslabyul third year, peering over his head to see what he was looking at. Not seeing anything interesting, he speaks up.

"What are you looking at?"

Startled by the sudden voice, the boy quickly turns around and puts a hand on the other's mouth and pulls him down towards his chest with his other hand. Slightly stunned, Malleus finds himself halfway crouching, staring at the red gem of the magic pen tucked in the boy's breast pocket. He looks up to the boy's face.

Cater Diamond. Said person is looking down at him, a sheepish smile on his face.

"I'm hiding from Riddle-kun. Please stay still for a bit Malleus-kun," he whispers.

Without waiting for any form of response, Cater darts his head back up and glances behind the tree. His hands were still holding Malleus in place, so the fae had no choice but to stay awkwardly bent over. At least the hand over his mouth was not too stifling. 

Malleus belatedly realize how close he was to the human's face. A lot of creatures fear him, humans even more so. This is the first time a human willingly pulled him close to themselves. 

Taking advantage of the close proximity, Malleus observes the human's face. Cater has a nice, smooth forehead. His eyebrows are orange too, which means the orange hair is natural. Unless he dyed his eyebrows as well, he's heard of the practice from Lilia. 

His eyes are a similar green to Malleus but of a deeper hue. Unlike his own thin pupils, Cater's are round, shining bright with mischief. He has pretty lashes too, moving animatedly when he blinks. Malleus' eyes are then drawn to the red diamond on his cheek. The fae has always wondered if it was make-up or like a makeshift tattoo, since he's never seen any Heartslabyul student without it at any time. He wonders if the diamond mark would smear if he ran his finger over it. 

Malleus' eyes travel lower, down the curve of his nose and to his lips. The human was biting his lower lip, a single fang peeking out over it. Malleus noticed the fang before, during the times Cater would excitedly talk about a new café he wants to visit. He thinks it's cute. Cater stops biting his lips and Malleus can see that they're glossy. He wonders if Cater wore lip gloss. He wonders if he would taste it if they kissed, and whether those lips are just as soft as it looks. He wonders how the human would react if he kissed. The image he conjured up unknowingly made him smile.

Cater sighed in relief after seeing Riddle pass the hallway without seeing him. He feels something shift under his hand and only then realized he was still holding Malleus. 

"Oh my god Malleus-kun I'm so sorry!" He hurriedly took his hand off the fae's mouth and let go of him. "I was too busy trying not to get caught I didn't even realize what I was doing. Are you okay?"

Malleus straightens up after the hand pulling him down was lifted. Cater finds himself looking up at the tall Diasomnia prefect standing very close to him. He looks for any signs of discomfort or anger from the fae but Malleus was smiling at him. 

"You're so beautiful Diamond."

Cater's mind blanks out. He blinks once. Twice. He sees Malleus still looking at him, a small smile on his face. He observes as the fae's eyes shift, looking at something lower than his eyes, most probably his lips-

"Ahahahaha thanks~ Well, I gotta go now so see you around Malleus-kun~" Cater pats his shoulder while also pushing him away because he was standing _very_ close and lightly jogs away. Once he was away from the courtyard he breaks into a full run and heads into an empty classroom. 

He slides down on to the floor, catching his breath. He feels his face burning up and covers it behind his hands, feeling the warmth of the flushed face.

_He said I was beautiful?? And that face- my god why is he so handsome and why did he look at me like that? And was he staring at my lips? Wait, maybe there was something on my lips?_

Cater takes out his phone and switches to the front camera. He is hit with the image of his red face, and feels another wave of blush coming. He fans his face with his other hand and inspects his lips. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he concludes that Malleus was simply staring at his lips. Which still did not answer any questions. Cater lets out a groan.

_How am I ever going to face him normally after this?_

Over in the courtyard, Malleus was still standing under the tree. He wasn't sure why he said those words to Cater. He was simply... stating his observations. He has never observed a person that close and what he found was that, Cater is very beautiful. Yet, why did he thought about kissing the human? 

He thought back to how he even got in that situation.

 _Oh right. The gargoyle. At the west wing._

Malleus heads towards the direction of the building, the tip of his ears slightly pink. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I woke up with this scene in my head and I had to write it down.


	9. The stars are out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vil gets an unexpected call the night after VDC.
> 
> [spoilers for Chapter 5]

It is the night after VDC, and the stars are shining.

All the NRC Tribe members safely return to their dorms after packing their things from Ramshackle. Ace and Deuce are welcomed warmly by the Heartslabyul residents. Trey and Cater personally escort them to the lounge where Riddle pours them tea, much to Ace's delight. 

"We were awesome right~?"

"Eyy don't be so smug Ace-chan. Deuce-chan definitely stood out more than you did earlier y'know."

"Yeah, because he was so stiff."

"I was not stiff!"

"Okay, okay stop fighting. You two were equally great."

"That's right, listen to your father~"

"Cater..."

Kalim is on a video call with his family, a number of his little siblings crowding around his father to see their favourite big brother. All of them are talking over each other but they're all saying how they watched him dance and sing and wanted to join him and they saw Jamil too! Kalim smiles seeing their excited reactions, forgetting the frustration of losing. In another room, Jamil is on a phone call with his sister who is talking about how beautiful Vil Schoenheit was during the performance. 

"He was so beautiful~ I couldn't take my eyes off of him!"

"Oi, did you even notice I got a solo part in the middle of the song? Or were you too busy staring at Vil?"

"Eh~ you got a solo? Must've missed it teehee."

"I'm hanging up."

The mood in Pomefiore is quiet. The dorm members welcome their return, but they don't know what to say.

Vil sighs. "What, did we perform that badly for you to be so quiet?"

Understanding the situation, the members start smiling. 

"You definitely shined the brightest Vil-san!"

"Rook-senpai was amazing too!"

"We will definitely win next time! Especially with Epel on our side!"

Everyone is in high-spirits. They all thought the team did well, but they didn't want to force the happiness in case Vil was upset for not winning.

"Thank you everyone. It's been a long day, so please excuse me."

Vil moves towards his room before being stopped by Rook. 

"You were beautiful and worked hard all throughout the day, Vil. Have a good rest."

The Pomefiore dorm leader raises an eyebrow at the blonde. Even until the end, Rook was unpredictable. But that was just how the man is. Vil was angry at one point, but in the end it made sense. Even if he almost made Vil faint.

"I would say sweet dreams to you, but I know you already experienced a very dream-like situation earlier. Good night Rook."

Vil smirks seeing his vice-leader's sheepish face. On his way to his room, he sees Epel being surrounded by some of the other first years, talking excitedly. He's glad Epel knows how to use his strength now.

He reaches his room and goes along his night routine. Once he's done showering and doing skincare, he lies down on his bed. Now finally alone and with nothing to do, his mind starts recalling the day.

And he's... tired. That's all he could feel as his mind starts racing and all of his overwhelming emotions get mixed. 

The sound of his ringtone alerts him to the present. He broke one of his phones, the one with Mira Mira on it, earlier that day. He takes the phone and sees the name of the person calling him.

**_Leona_ **

It was rare for Leona to call him, and especially at night. Thinking of recent events, he concludes that Leona probably wanted to tease him for singing the stupid children's song with Neige earlier. In a sour mood, he answers the phone. 

"What do you want?" 

_"Woah, not even a hello? How rude."_

"What's rude is you calling me at this hour. I've had a long day, in case you weren't watching."

The sound of the lion's laughter crackles through the phone. _"Oh I was watching all right. You looked like you were having the time of your life."_

Vil huffs. "If you called just to mock me then I'm hanging up."

_"No wait."_

Leona sounded genuinely worried that Vil was going to cut the call. That made the Pomefiore dorm leader curious.

"What is it?"

There is a few beat of silence that only made Vil anxious. Just as he was about to say something, Leona speaks.

_"Did you Overblot?"_

Vil feels a sinking feeling in his stomach. Of all the things that happened today, that was the one he was most upset about. It hurt him the most. He thought it would be kept a secret between the members for a while, but he should've known people were bound to find out about it.

He's even more upset that out of everyone, it's Leona who guessed it. Leona, who he always quarreled with, the one he deemed lazy, the one who went through Overblot himself. When he first heard the news he thought of how that could never happen to him. And yet here he is, battered and bruised.

There is no use to lie. "How did you figure it out?"

_"There was a strong smell of magic around the coliseum after the rehearsals. And the data for the stage lighting was messed up too."_

"And you figured out it was me?"

_"You were the only one powerful enough to go Overblot. And the magic reeked of your scent."_

"Oh? What does my magic smell like? Is it enchanting?" Vil has heard of magicians who are able to recognize a person's magic by scent, but it was a rare skill.

Leona scoffs. _"More like overwhelmingly sweet."_

Surprisingly enough, Vil finds himself laughing at the other's disgusted tone. 

_"And the worst part was I also smelled the dragon's stinking magic."_

'Dragon..?' "You mean Malleus? Yeah he fixed the coliseum after I... wrecked it."

The sound of a groan can be heard from the phone. _"Of course he fixed it. Probably took him a few seconds to do it."_

"Ara, is that jealousy I hear?"

_"Fuck off."_

"How vulgar."

The line goes silent again. Vil doesn't know what to say, now that Leona knew he went Overblot. Why did he ask about it anyway? 

_"... don't overwork yourself. You probably used up all your energy to perform after the incident."_

Vil feels the aches on his body. "Are you actually worried about me? How surprising."

_"I know what it feels like after Overblot. If you don't get proper rest it's gonna be a pain for the rest of the week."_

Vil remembers the school's Magift tournament. He remembers seeing Leona bruised even before the first match, but he still played. Savanaclaw even went as far as the finals until they lost to Diasomnia. Vil shudders, thinking of how much pain Leona endured after the Overblot and the tournament. 

"I'm not as reckless as you. And I was about to sleep when you called anyway."

_"Sorry for interrupting your rest then, **Beautiful Queen**."_

The corner of Vil's lips rise up slightly. "Then let me sleep."

 _"Just one more thing,"_ Leona's voice turns serious. _"Don't you think it's weird that there's been five cases of Overblot in our school?"_

"Wait, five?"

_"Jamil. It happened over the holidays, I heard it from Ruggie."_

"Huh." So his case makes it five? It was weird, now that he thinks about it. Overblot is not a common occurrence, and for it to happen five times in the same school?

_"It started after that small herbivore appeared."_

"Who?"

_"Yuu."_

"Oh. You think he's causing the incidents?"

_"...I don't know. But I don't think it's a coincidence that the incidents start after he appeared with that raccoon."_

Vil is not able to think of anything. The kid was so honest and lost, a magic-less person in a magical school, with unknown origins. He doesn't know what Leona is getting at.

"So... we keep an eye on him?"

_"Yeah. Just wanted to let you know my suspicions."_

"...okay."

Another beat of silence pass.

_"That's all. Take care of yourself, Vil."_

"Okay now you're just being creepy. Are you really Leona?"

_"Tch shut up."_

"Ah there he is."

A sigh could be heard over the phone. _"Just make sure you're able to attend the festival tomorrow."_

"And why do you care whether I attend the festival tomorrow?"

_"Cheka is coming tomorrow and he won't stop yapping about wanting to meet you. It'll be hell if you're not there."_

Vil rolls over in his bed. "Awww you're such a nice _Oji-tan~_ "

_"Bye."_

Leona hangs up. Vil laughs at having managed to get back at Leona. He pulls up the covers over himself and quickly finds himself drifting off to sleep. Before completely falling asleep, he thought about thanking Leona for distracting him from his thoughts.

It is the night after VDC, and the stars are shining.

Vil falls asleep soundly, exhausted from the day's events. Epel texts the first year groupchat goodnight, and laughs at Adeuce combi's response. Rook has a hard time falling asleep, finding himself grinning and kicking the blankets when he remembers Neige recognizing him as a fan.

Jamil's sister sends a picture of her in front of a huge screen displaying Jamil's face and wished him goodnight. Kalim creeps into Jamil's room and asks to sleep together, saying that he misses when they would all sleep together during the training camp. Jamil complains but lets him under the blankets anyway.

Ace and Deuce's room is finally silent. Earlier their roommates kept playing the VDC encore video and replaying the part when they sang with the dwarves. After relentless teasing and yelling (and getting scolded by Riddle for being noisy) the room is finally at peace, everyone retiring back to their beds. Occasionally a person would whisper "yahou~" and get shushed.

And at the dark coliseum, in the cold winter night, a monster lashes out and Yuu falls unconscious. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came to me like a fever dream and I wrote it half-delirious.
> 
> I'm not sure if this would count as Leovil, which is why I didn't tag the ship. But well, it's there. So I just put Leona & Vil to be safe. Let me know if you like it!
> 
> Also just realized, we've reached 2k hits!! Thank you so much to those who are new and to those who keep coming back!! Now I'm attached to this work. Love you guys 💕

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed it, leave a comment on your favorite parts! If you didn't like it, tell me where and why, I am always looking forward to improve my writing. This work is honestly mostly self-indulgent and is a way to motivate me to write more because I love the boys so much!
> 
> Comments and kudos will be received with love <3


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